Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Love Is More Than Sacrifices
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Our text is a profession of faith and a liturgical hymn. The profession of faith is made because Gnosticism was creeping in.
As there were so many rules of the Law to observe, it is easy to understand the desire of scribes to ask which was the key commandment. Twice a day, pious Jews professed the “Hear, Israel,” with the love of God, unique and very important. Jesus attaches to it love of neighbour, too, as a total commitment that he will practice on the cross.
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
You want your heart to be
the measure of our love,
But you are always greater than our hearts.
In this eucharist, let your Son give us
a heart of flesh in which burns
a fire of love that cannot be extinguished,
and that prompts us to follow him all the way
to you and to all you have entrusted to us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, son of David, as preached in my gospel.
For this gospel, I work hard and even endure chains like a criminal, but the word of God is not chained.
And so, I suffer everything for the sake of those who are chosen, that they too may obtain the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus, and share in eternal glory.
This saying is true:
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
If we endure, we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him, he will deny us;
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful
for he cannot deny himself.
Remind your people of these things and urge them in the presence of God not to fight over words, which do no good but only harm those who listen.
Be a committed and proven worker for God, correctly handling the word of truth, and lead a blameless life.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
R. (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
On the Most Important Precept
A teacher of the law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them. So he came up and asked him:
“Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered:
“The first is:
Hear, Israel!
The Lord, our God, is One Lord;
and you shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
And after this comes a second commandment:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no commandment greater than these two.”
The teacher of the law said to him:
“Well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one and there is no other besides him.
To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”
Jesus approved this answer and said:
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
After that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Prayers of the Faithful
– That the Church for which Christ died may grow into a universal community of love, which makes God’s unconditional love visible to all people, we pray:
– That Christians everywhere may not be people of legalisms and outward observances but people with a heart, who do what they have to do and more because they are God’s children, we pray:
– That our anemic and dried-up love may become rich and spontaneous, like a fresh breath of life and joy, brightening the lives of those around us and a wordless song of praise to God, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Loving God,
in this eucharist we celebrate
the memory of the sacrifice
of Jesus who showed us
the full extent of his love.
Let him make our love
as deep and as wide as his,
even if it will upset our settled ways.
May this be the sacrifice we offer you
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
to be open to you and to your calls,
to enter the world of people
who are wounded by life
by other persons and by us too,
to hear their cries and to welcome all,
where will all this lead us?
By the strength of this eucharist
help us to encounter our neighbors,
to share their bread, their joys and miseries
and to kindle new hope in their hearts.
May this be our response to your love
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing
Indeed, to love one’s neighbour as oneself often demands sacrifices and is therefore worth more than ritual sacrifices. May God inspire such a commitment and bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Commentary by Fr Armellini, SCJ
Mk 12:28-34
The most important commandment
A constant debate among the Pharisees raged over the relative importance of various commandments. The rabbis identified 613 laws in the Scriptures. This might sound like a lot, but what could be the total number of laws in the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church? The Canon Law was revised in 2021. There are 1752 of them!
It was a much-debated question among rabbis: “Which is the greatest commandment?” In the past two days, we read from Mark about the Pharisees and Sadducees’ attempts to discredit and trap Jesus through their questions. But today, the question seems to be a genuine one. Jesus responds to the question with due seriousness.
Love God and love your neighbour – for Jesus, these two commandments together constituted a single one. Jesus’ answer was nothing new nor surprising. “You love your neighbour as yourself.” We all agree on the commandment to love God because God can be loved, even if it is sometimes difficult. But when it comes to loving neighbours, things aren’t easy. Think of loving someone I cross paths with every day, someone I come across at work or at school, someone I see every day on the corner of our street, someone who asks for alms on our streets...
You don’t have to ask “Who is my neighbour?” because we understand them very well. Really? Perhaps the truth is the opposite: We know little or practically nothing about our neighbours. Today, Jesus asks us to be familiar with our neighbours.
Making the other person feel important is our responsibility, since he/she is also a son/daughter of God, like me, and therefore my sister or brother. With brothers, we argue, we laugh, and we cry, but not so with all the “neighbours.” How will we reach a level of confidence where we are genuinely in love with our brothers, sisters, and neighbours, so that no one can accuse us of not taking the first step?