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When I was in University, Mother Teresa once came to U of T to speak.
It was outdoor and so many people came. Like Zacchaeus, I tried to go near to the front and so I could see her.
With excitement, I was waiting for her. And finally she came out.
She was small and her face was full of wrinkles. But she had a charisma. She came to the mic and she started speaking.
All she said was, “love God and love your neighbour.”
That was exactly what Jesus said.
People saw Jesus’ miracles. They saw how profound he was when he argued with Pharisees and Sadducees.
Chapter 12 of Mark – various groups of people came to Jesus and challenged him. They were so called important people.
First, Pharisees came and asked about whether to give taxes to the emperor or not. Then, Sadducees came and asked about the resurrection.
They all asked these questions not because they were really interested in what Jesus had to say but they wanted to trap him.
Jesus was not trapped. He answered each one wisely. His answer was profound.
Today’s Scripture passage deals with the third question. But this question was different from other two questions.
The question came from one of the scribes. Another important group.
He saw the interaction between Jesus and Pharisees and Sadducees. He saw how wisely Jesus dealt with their trick questions.
Now he was genuinely interested in what Jesus had to say.
Mark records it this way.
One 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?’ (Mark 12:28)
He really wanted to know what Jesus had to say about the commandments.
At that time, for them, the commandments were everything. They lived for the commandments, they lived by the commandments. Commandments were their life.
So his question can be rephrased in this way. What is the most important about life? What is life all about? What is the ultimate meaning and purpose of life?
That was what he was asking.
Jesus’ answer was very simple.
Love your God and love your neighbours.
Like what Mother Teresa said. Everything else is the commentary of how to do it.
There was a famous teacher in Israel. His name was Hillel. His grandson was Gamaliel who was St. Paul’s teacher.
He said this.
What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbour. That is the whole Torah, while the rest is the commentary thereof; go and learn it.
Love is the greatest thing. Love is the ultimate purpose one can pursue.
Make money to love. Work hard to love. Get educated to love. What else is there?
God created us to love. When God created the world, every time, he said, it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. (Genesis 1:3, 4)
God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10)
Every day, he achieved the masterpiece of his creation. And he said, it was good.
But only once, he said it wasn’t good. That was when God saw Adam being alone.
Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ (Genesis 2:18)
He created Eve. It was not that he only created another human being. He created love that binds them together.
Adam felt love for the first time. Now he knew what love was.
We can see that in his confession.
This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. (Genesis 2:23)
God created love for them and Adam felt it.
But soon, when they committed sin, he lost the ability to love.
The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate. (Genesis 3:12)
No more bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This woman you gave me.
Separation. He separated himself from the woman.
That is what sin does. Separates.
Love unites and confesses you are bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
Jesus came to restore love that was originally given at creation.
Love. That was what Jesus told them to do. Restore love that was lost.
It doesn’t matter what you do with commandments. If there is no love, none of them is useless.
Everything else is merely the commentary of love. That is what is the most important.
The scribe now clearly understood what Jesus meant.
…this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:33)
That’s why Jesus said about the scribe:
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ (Mark 12:34)
And Mark ends the story with this.
After that no one dared to ask him any question. (Mark 12:34)
They were all struck by the truth. No one dared to add anything to it.
That is it! The conclusion and the finality. No more frivolous arguments.
The problem Jesus saw – THEY LOST THE ABILITY TO LOVE.
In that way, they were dysfunctional. This world lost the ability to love. In that way, this world is dysfunctional.
We have to restore the ability to love.
How do we do that?
Go back to God. Not for religious reasons. Not for piety.
Go back to God who created love. And experience God’s love. Learn about God’s love. Ask God to give you love as he gave it to Adam.
The whole purpose of Jesus coming into the world was to restore the love that was lost.
This was what John said.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16)
Through Jesus Christ, we have to restore love. When we don’t find love, we are lost.
God loves you. Receive that love. When you find God, you find love.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7, 8)
You are not alone. It is not good to be alone.
You have God with you and you have sisters and brothers who care for you. Nothing can separate you to be isolated.
This was what Paul said.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
When love is restored within you, you are no more an island. You don’t need to live like an island.
But that is the feeling we feel sometimes.
That feeling was well captured in the song of Paul Simon, I am a rock.
A winter’s day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow
I am a rock I am an island
I’ve built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain
I am a rock I am an island
Don’t talk of love
Well I’ve heard the word before
It’s sleeping in my memory
I won’t disturb the slumber of feelings that have died
If I never loved I never would have cried
I am a rock I am an island
I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me
I am a rock I am an island
And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries
Jesus came to restore love within us.
Jesus came to tell us that you are not a rock. You are not an island.
I am with you, Jesus says. Let your love within you be restored.
It’s like a match stick. It has all the potential to set a fire. All you need is to strike it to the surface. (I got the imagery from the podcast Tom sent me.)
Yes, you have potential fire of love. You need to kindle it.
Let your love within you be kindled.
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