March 3, 2015: Mark 12:28-34

We encourage you to read this devotion three times a day.  Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon question for reflection.  For the evening, take time to ponder how this has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening question.  We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we invite you to pray what is in your heart.

 

Mark 12:28-34

²⁸One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”²⁹Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;³³and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ —this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

Key Verses: Mark 12:29-31

Reflection:

      There is an old story about a Jewish sage named Rabbi Hillel who lived not long before the time of Jesus. A Gentile man approached Rabbi Hillel who was rather portly, and, intending to provoke the Rabbi said, "Rabbi, I will convert to Judaism if you can teach the entire Torah on one foot." Rabbi Hillel was not provoked to anger. He stood on one foot and said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. The rest is commentary." The man converted.

      The two greatest commandments given originally in the Torah and repeated by Jesus are easy to remember and easy to recite- even on one foot. The difficult part is living out the greatest commandments. A cursory reading of any newspaper can illustrate how deeply we fail to follow these commandments: stories that show we often love and prioritize money and success over God and countless examples of people ignoring their neighbors or causing harm rather than love and compassion.

      There is no hidden secret to following the words and example of Jesus. Through the grace of God we are each capable of being agents of love, compassion, and mercy. The trick is, in the words of Nike, "Just do it." Through practice, reflection, and prayer we will fall deeper in love with God and that love will outpour to our neighbors and ourselves.

Reflection Questions:

Morning: How can I love God and be an agent of God's love today: at work, at home, on my commute, while running errands?

Noon: Who are my neighbors whom I struggle to love?

Evening: How did I love God and my neighbor today, how did I fall short?

Prayer:

Thank you God for the example you give me in the teaching and the actions of Jesus. Help me to love you with my whole self. Guide me in all that I do, that I may love all my neighbors, those for whom compassion comes easily, and those whom I struggle to understand. When I falter may I remember the divine love you have given to me, and may I continue to strive to share that love with the world. Amen