31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); November 3, 2024

Dt 6:2-6.  Ps 18.  Heb 7:23-28.  Mk 12:28-34

Deacon Jim McFadden

       Mark’s gospel, the first written  in the mid-60s,  is the shortest of the four gospels consisting of only 16 chapters and is one of breath-taking action after another.   As such, not a word, sentence, or paragraph is wasted.  So, when we look at today’s Gospel reading where a scribe asks Jesus which of the commandments is the greatest, the exchange fits Mark’s literary style until it doesn’t.  Jesus responds to the scribe by citing Scripture,  quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4—“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  Jesus, then adds, quoting Leviticus 19:18, “The second is this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

            The scribe was delighted in hearing this and he not only recognizes that Jesus is right, but then he does something subtle that is atypical of Mark’s literary style: he repeats the exact same words Jesus had said: “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that…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, is much more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mk 12:32-33).

            Now, the question arises, why did Mark include the verbatim repetition that seems so at odds with Mark’s concise  writing style?   Since everything in the Gospel is there for a reason since it is divinely inspired, then the repetition is there for a reason.  This repetition is a teaching for all of us who are listening today.   The Word of the Lord cannot be received like any other type of news, which has a very brief shelf life.  No, the Word of the Lord needs to be repeated, internalized, safeguarded. 

            In the monastic tradition of the monks that began with St. Benedict, they used a very bold, audacious, and concrete term to assist their interior growth.  It simply goes like this: the Word of the God must be ‘ruminated.’  ‘To ruminate’ the Word of God is akin to eating:  it is so nutritious, so life-giving, that we want to have it permeate every aspect of our life.  We want it to involve, as Jesus says today, our entire heart, soul, the entire mind, all of our strength (cf. v. 30).  For that to happen, the Word of the Lord must resound, echo, and re-echo within us.  When we absorb the Word of the Lord, it’s going to become an interior echo that repeats itself, which means that Jesus is dwelling within the heart.  And, when that happens, he says to us today, just as he did to the good scribe in the Gospel: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (v. 34).

            Brothers and sisters, Jesus is not looking for skilled orators or biblical commentators—though they certainly have their place in preaching and Scriptural exegesis within the life of the Church—but what he is seeking more than anything else are those who have a docile heart, that listen and welcome his Word, allowing themselves to be changed from within.  That’s why it’s so important to be familiar with the Gospel on a daily basis, which is a good and necessary way to have an on-going conversation with Jesus.  95% of Americans own a smartphone; so, get a biblical app which you can readily access and as you ruminate on the Word of the Lord throughout the day, it will find a home within your heart, with all your soul, with all of your mind and with all of your strength. 

            And, we can ask ourselves: does this commandment truly orient my life?  Does it resonate with my daily life?  It would be good as you slip into sleep to read Scripture, to make an examination of conscience on today’s Word, to see whether we have loved the Lord “with our whole heart and soul” and “our neighbor as ourself”?  Over time, as we ruminate on the Word, as we internalize it, we will bring that Word to our encounter with other people.  As such, we will bring a little bit of that love that comes from the Word of God, who is the incarnation of God’s love. 

            May the Virgin Mary, in whom the Word of God was made flesh, teach us to welcome the living word of the Gospel in our hearts.  Amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. Why did Jesus reduce the entire list of 613 laws to these two, which are aspects of the Great Commandment?
2. The Word of God must be ‘ruminated.’  Do you practice that discipline?  How so?
3. Does the Word of God find a home within your heart?