Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary time

Lectionary: 152

You are right in saying,

'He is 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."

In the last month of our liturgical year, as the feast of Christ the King and the First Sunday of Advent approach, we hear three times repeated -- once from Deuteronomy, and twice from Saint Mark's Gospel -- the divine command to love God with the four-fold entirety of our being -- with heart, soul, mind and strength.  It's that important.

And, as the scribe admits, it's not unreasonable. What are we here for if not to love God? What could be the reason, goal or purpose of human life, within the spectacular arena of the Universe, if not to praise, worship and love the Creator of the Universe? If we are not up to the challenge, there seems no one else to do it.

But we are a troubled lot and the majesty, dimension and beauty of the universe fail to win our hearts.

And then there is our own human life with all its complexity, challenge and grace to reveal God's goodness. That should astonish us and persuade us to shout, "Hallowed by thy name!"

However, if we are only distressed and not elated by our human experience, there is Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Mary. The Spirit of the Crucified and Risen draws us out of our self-obsessed misery to adore him.

Finally, if the Gospel does not reach us, and cannot inspire us to love him with all our heart, with all our understanding, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as oneself, then not even our God-like freedom to refuse will amaze us. We must be dead. These four mighty works of God -- Creation, human life, Jesus, and freedom -- have failed to inspire us.

Himself

But human beings often fail to act reasonably. Creatures of time, our love of God must be practiced and made habitual over the course of a lifetime. If it comes naturally, it does not come easily for there are many distractions, many discouragements, and many persuasive reasons why we do not love God.

In fact, we must strive to enter through the narrow gate. It is an uphill climb; there are external obstacles that sometimes seem like the German pillboxes that greeted the D-Day invasion at Normandy. There are also internal obstacles like my indolence, greed, avarice and my wishing there were an easier way.

But it's not suppose to be easy. We know that because we have watched Jesus. If he made fishing, walking on water and multiplying loaves look easy, his trial, passion and death were terrible.

In today's gospel, having arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus enjoys one small victory. He has wisely answered a question which was intended to harass and rankle. He did so reasonably and with supreme dignity. The scribe can only admire one who dodged a mortal threat with the grace of a matador. "Well said, teacher. You are right..."

But this fellow seems to be the exception in a world of deep distress and profound disappointment. In that world you and I strive to enter through the narrow gate of giving God his just due. To love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is right and just.