The gospel for Friday of the third week of Lent is taken from Mark 12th, chapter 2834. One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, which is the first of all the commandments? Jesus replied, the first is this. 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, with all your strength. The second is this.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. The scribe said to him, well said, teacher. You are right in saying he is the One. There is no other than he. And to love him with all, all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

And when Jesus saw that, he answered with understanding. He said to him, you’re not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to ask him any more questions. It’s clear in this passage that Jesus has a clear message as to what the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, is going to be like. It’s a constant evolution of consciousness that moves people more and more into one single focus. To love, to love God, to love who we are, to love our brothers and sisters, to love everything that God has created.

Love is the most important thing because it is the one thing that brings the essence of the kingdom of God together. It’s called union, communion, oneness. That’s what we long for, an end to the isolation, the fear, the anger, the shame that keeps us separated. Love unites us. Everything else tends to divide us. The Closing Prayer Father, you give us a prayer that we are taught to recite over and over.

It’s the only time you taught us how to pray. And one of the key lines in it is, we pray, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So bless us with knowing and also longing for this union and communion that love can bring to your kingdom. Make it real for all of us. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.