Cortez: The First and the Second of all Commandments

IN THIS Sunday’s gospel (Mark 12:28-34) Jesus was asked by a scribe, “Which commandment is the first of all?” The question must have meant to put Jesus on spot, for the Jews are said to observe more than 600 Old Testament laws. It must have been difficult to single out a particular law as the “first,” or the most important of all.

Jesus’ answer was remarkable. Guided by the Jewish Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), Jesus said, “Hear, O Israel! 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.” But he proceeds further to what follows after the first, this time around drawing from Leviticus 19:18, saying, “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Love is therefore the foundation and the centerpiece of all the 600+ Old Testament laws. And love is two-fold; it involves loving God and loving our neighbor.

To love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength would mean loving God with everything we are and with everything we have. To do so is to put him above everything or everyone else – to seek him first and his kingdom, and to obey his will.

Looking at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21) we note that the first three in the list deal with loving God. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shall not have strange gods before me.” “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” “Remember to keep holy the LORD’s day.”

On the other hand, to love our neighbor is to do them no harm (Romans 13:10). It is to “do to others whatever we would have them do to us” (Matthew 7:12). It is not repaying evil with evil, but overcoming evil with good (see Romans 12:17-21 and 1Peter 3:9). It means being patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not arrogant, not rude, not insisting on one’s own way, not irritable, not resentful, not rejoicing in wrongdoing but rejoicing in the truth; bearing, believing, hoping and enduring (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Going back to the Ten Commandments, we see that the last seven concretize what loving our neighbor looks like. “Honor your father and your mother.” “You shall not kill.” “You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not steal.” “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.”

Loving is not easy, and loving perfectly according to God’s standards is impossible to achieve, if we rely solely on our own selves. But doesn’t our salvation rely on our love for God through our faith in Jesus Christ as manifested in our love for our neighbor?

Well, yes, but the good news is that what is impossible for man is possible with God (Luke 18:27). Only with God’s grace can we truly love.

With this gospel in mind let us therefore pray to the God of love to teach us how to love the way he does. “Not with burnt offerings and sacrifices,” not out of legal compliance, but out of a pure intention to make God supreme in our lives, and to value others the way we value our selves.

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