The gospel for Thursday of the ninth week in Ordinary Time 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, 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, shall love your neighbor as yourself. There are no other commandment greater than these.

The scribe said to him, well said, teacher. You are right in saying he is the One, and there is no other than He. And to love him with 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 them, you are not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

It’s important to realize there were those who lived by the rules and laws of the temple that recognized in Jesus who he was. He had truth. He had wisdom. And in this story, when it comes down to what is really the temple there, for what is really religion’s goal, what is it asking of us? It’s asking us to enter into a way of life that’s called the Kingdom of God. And it’s all about love.

Loving God, loving ourselves, loving each other. And that’s not a feeling, that’s not an emotion. It’s a powerful force that lives within us, that heals and transforms. Everything depends upon love, for it is the power of God in the world. Please ponder this reflection, and I will close with a prayer. Sam.

Father, awaken us. Open us always to the simplicity of the message of God and the mystery that it contains. When we open ourselves to a gift, that is the beginning of our ability to be who God calls us to be. We’re called to allow him to be a source of love to all those around us and thereby establishing his kingdom here. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.