Love is one - Mk 12: 28b-34
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
In the Mosaic Law, the rabbis counted as many as 613 rules, including 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments. Of course, not all of them were equally important, and there was a lively discussion about their hierarchy. Attempts were made to classify them into large and small, heavy and light, general and detailed, but it was not easy to find in the thicket, mass of regulations a rule that would organize them all. Hence, the question posed by the scholar was not at all academic, but was a pressing problem: what is the essence and center of God's will? what does God primarily require of us? The answers proposed by the rabbis varied. One of them, Hillel (died around AD 10), said: “What is hateful to you, don't do it to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn" (Talmud, Shabbat 31a). Other teachers emphasized faith in God, and still others argued that there is no single rule from which to derive all the other commandments.
In answering them, Jesus refers to the Book of Deuteronomy: The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Dt 6: 4-5). Jesus quotes the words of the Torah, which in Israel were taught by heart to little children, and which a devout Jew recited twice a day as his primary prayer: the famous Shema Israel from Dt 6: 4-5. It is essentially a positive approach to the first commandment of the Decalogue: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me.” (Dt 5: 6-7; cf. Ex 20: 1ff). The first and foremost commandment is to love one God. In the Hebrew text it says: Yahweh, our God, Yahweh alone. This statement makes a clear distinction between the multiplicity of deities (false, non-existent) and the God of Yahweh, the God with a personal name, the only one who exists and is a living God.
Man is always tempted by idolatry, especially by the claim that God is not enough to give him life and happiness. Therefore, he is looking for something other than God, some strength that guarantees the satisfaction of his desires. Therefore, there appears Yahweh and Baal, God and Mammon, the Lord and material things. God becomes something among the others, perhaps the most important (at least in theory). But hearts are divided between belonging to God and caring for other values. If man does not recognize God as the supreme goal, the supreme value of his life, then he idolizes the relative human value. By rejecting God, he creates an idol in his life. But deified human reality always turns against him. It destroys him and kills him.
The first total human love must be God! You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength - that is: you will open yourself completely to God who gives life, to the good and happiness flowing from Him, you will entrust your fate to Him without any reservations, without any conditions being imposed on Him.
The verb to love has a double meaning. On the one hand, it relates to the sphere of feelings. Our spirituality, mind, feelings, sensuality, the whole body and all mental and spiritual strength are to become the place of receiving and giving love. On the other hand, the term refers to the legal language, the language of the covenant, and is expressed in specific actions (e.g., respect, faithfulness, service). Whoever loves keeps the commandment (cf. Jn 14:23).
The commandment of love implies wholeness: with all heart, soul, mind, and strength. You cannot keep anything for yourself in love. Love gives everything away: everything that is mine is yours, and yours is mine (cf. Jn 17:10), Jesus will say about his relationship with the Father. Love also implies fidelity. Only what is eternal can express true depth. Whoever is not committed forever does not really give himself, but only "borrows" for a certain period of time. Love requires fidelity like Jesus who loved us to the end (cf. Jn 13: 1).
One more thought
Jesus' answer to the scribe does not mean that God should be loved more than man. Whoever loves God loves the other person, but also himself. For love cannot be broken down into pieces and cannot be given greater to one and less to another. When a man loves, he loves. He loves both himself and other people and God (if he knows Him). Love is always one as God is one. Here on earth, it embraces us, God and those who stand in our way, especially those closest to us.
Love is one as God is one, because God is Love. So, there is no less (worse) love and no greater (better). Love is inherently infinite, like God. Here on earth, it is limited only by time and space, because it is "trapped" in the passing matter.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george