Many people came to Jesus and asked questions. We might think that these people have acknowledged Jesus. We could also think that these people might have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. But in most cases, people asked him questions, in order to trap him.
In today’s Gospel a scribe asked Jesus a question saying: Which commandment is the first of all? He didn’t necessarily ask that question to hear about it from Jesus, because a scribe knows the Bible. A scribe should know which commandment is the first. In my opinion, he asked Jesus to test Jesus and perhaps to hear a wrong answer from him, so that he could then show that the crowd around Jesus does not have the decisive knowledge about God and the world.
We heard in the last sentence of today’s text : “No one dared to ask Jesus a question anymore”. It means that the intention of this scribe was not correct. Jesus answered every kind of question correctly and sensibly. Therefore no one dared to ask further questions and to come before Jesus with evil intentions. Even in such unfair and unpleasant situations, Jesus reacts rationally, objectively, biblically, historically and from the tradition of the Jews. Therefore, no one could mislead Jesus with arguments and discussions.
In his arguments and discussions, no one could set aside or despise Jesus. In the implementation of the Jewish and human law Jesus was a model. The laws and traditions, as Jesus himself says and quotes from the Bible, are to love God first and to love people as themselves.
These commandments are not very difficult to understand and to practice. Some time people interpret these simple commandments and make it complicated. Love is something which every human knows, feels and likes. Let us be loving towards God or towards human.
To the question who is our neighbour there are many answers. Usually we consider our partner, family members, children, parents, friends or neighbouring people as those who are near to us. Very often we find it difficult to practice the law of the love of the neighbour even in this close circle of those who are near to us. Therefore we find it difficult to practice even this easy commandment of love.
I sometimes quote a sentence from the Old Testament book Song of Songs. 8 Verse 6 during wedding sermons. It says: “Love is as strong as death”. But when, after deciding to live a life together, love dies and the couples break up, you may ask yourself, how much people love each other. There are many beautiful sayings in the Bible about love of God and love of neighbor, especially from the texts of John. He says:
“We want to love because he first loved us.” (John 4:19) In another passage we read: “Behold how great the love the Father has given us: we are called children of God, and we are.” (John 3:1). Or he says: “He who does not love his brother is a murderer.”
To be Christians one should love God and love their neighbors as themselves. Anyone who does not love their neighbors and says they love God is a liar, says John. That is why we as Christians are obliged to do this difficult task of loving our neighbors.
Fr. Joseph Pandiappallil MCBS