Which is the first of all the commandments?

31 Sunday of OT | Deut 6:2-6; Mark 12:28-34

Imagine for a moment that a mother is dropping off her child for their first day at a new school. The mother and her child are close by one another speaking. The mother is giving her child some last minute advice for how the child should behave in the new school they are entering for the first time. What advice do you think that the mother would give the child in this situation?

In the first reading, Moses is in much the same situation as this mother as he is giving the people of Israel some important final instructions before they enter the land God promised them. The context of the book of Deuteronomy, from which today’s first reading is taken, is interesting. The last four books of the Pentateuch - Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy - all cover the span of Moses life. These books tell the story of how God liberated the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt and led them to the promised land. The entire book of Deuteronomy occurs on one day: the final day of Moses’ life. On this day, Moses and the people of Israel are gathered on the plains of Moab, on the verge of entering the promised land. Deuteronomy is composed largely the last words of Moses to Israel. Just as the mother will not enter the new school with her child, Moses will not enter the land with Israel. Like the mother, Moses is giving final instructions to Israel about how they should best live in the new land land that they will soon enter.

Moses’ most important advice, which we find in the first reading, is that the people love God in a wholehearted fashion. The passage from Deuteronomy 6:4 onwards is often called the “schema”, which is the Hebrew imperative “listen!”, which begins Moses’ exhortation. Just as it was at the time of Jesus, the schema is a fundamental prayer for the Jewish people today. In fact, we find the schema on the lips of Jesus in the Gospel today. In one beautiful custom, Jewish people will place a copy of the schema in an object called a mezuzah and fix the mezuzah to their doorposts. This practice serves as a powerful reminder to those passing through the door about how they should live in whatever room or building that they are entering. The schema has a simple yet profound logic. There is only one God. God is meant to be loved. If there were many gods, then we would be bound to love each of these gods with a divided heart. There is, however, only one God. For this reason, we need to love God with all our hearts, souls and mind. This is an important reminder for us. We can easily give our love to other “gods” in our lives like money or reputation. As a result, our focus from God is divided. The schema challenges us to be honest about the different false gods we love. It is a reminder to redirect our hearts back to God.

A mezuzah (source)

In the Gospel, Jesus specifies that loving God necessitates loving our neighbour. Jesus, when asked by a scribe “which is the greatest of the commandments”, bends the question a bit. He does not just give one commandment. First, he responds with the schema. Jesus then adds another commandment, this time from Leviticus (19:18), which has the effect of clarifying what it means to love God wholeheartedly: love your neighbour as yourself. As is often mentioned, this command to love your neighbour implicitly contains a third commandment: you need to love yourself. Here, we are not talking about self absorption or inordinate pride. We need to recognize that we are good. We have been created by God and God does not make junk! If we don’t love ourselves, it is hard to love others. Often, people who treat others badly, do so out of a deep self-loathing. Jesus’ response regarding what is the greatest commandment is an expression of the practical significance of the incarnation. In Jesus, we believe that God has become a human being, thereby linking God and humanity forever. If we really believe this, then loving God means loving those around us. If we do not, we cannot claim to love God.

What advice did you think that the mother would say to the child who is about to enter a new school? Perhaps you answered with some form of the commandments found in today’s readings: 1) love God; 2) have a proper love for yourself; and 3) love your neighbour. This is not just great advice for a child, but for each one of us. After Israel heard Moses' instructions at the threshold of the promised land, they had a choice: they could follow his advice or not. Jesus has told us what it takes to live in the kingdom of God. Let us choose to follow his advice!

Antisemitism is an offence against God

30th Sunday of OT | Jer 31:7-9; Mk 10:46-52

This Sunday I was going to preach a more general message about how the blind Bartimaeus in today’s Gospel is a model for each of us, teaching us how to cry out to Jesus at the hour of our need. When I woke up and read the news Saturday morning, however, I became convinced that there is some more specific need for which we need to cry out to God today.

Like many of you, I was horrified to read the news this Saturday morning about the mass shooting that occured at the Tree of Life Congregation synagogue in Pittsburgh. In this terrible act of anti-semitism, a gunman opened fire on a Jewish community gathered for prayer on the Shabbat, killing eleven people and wounding many others. As we condemn this evil action and offer our prayers and solidarity to the families affected and the larger Jewish community, we should recognize that this crime is part of an incredibly unsettling trend of increased anti-semitism in recent years. Recently, we have seen very public displays of anti-semitism, such as in Charlottesville last year. In Canada too anti-semitism has become more and more prevalent.  For example, according to the Toronto Police Service, the Jewish population is the most common group targeted by hate-crimes. This should deeply trouble us as Catholics. It is something to which we must respond.

In response, we need to clearly denounce anti-semitism for the evil that it is. Nostra Aetate, the document from the Second Vatican Council on the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions, clearly denounced anti-semitism and called us as Catholics to speak out against it. As recent Popes, especially St. John Paul II, have noted, tragically Catholics in the past did not always do enough to combat anti-semitism and at times even fueled it. John Paul II, for example, recognized the actions and often inactions of Catholics that contributed to the Shoah (in his preface to, We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, 1998). Although Nostra Aetate clearly condemned the ideas that Jews are collectively guilty for the death of Jesus, this idea was permitted to exist among Catholics for too long, allowing anti-semitism to fester among Christians. This way of thinking was often the root of Jewish persecution in the past (for more, see here). Especially because anti-semitism has in the past found a place among Catholics, in light of recent events, we must clearly denounce it as evil. Anti-semitism is, as John Paul II said, an “offense against God” (here).

Michelangelo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to condemning anti-semitism, we need to be aware that, because of God’s covenant with Israel, the Jewish people have a unique and special place in the heart and plans of God. God’s covenant with the Jewish people is still in effect and is in fact irrevocable. Nostra Aetate clearly teaches this. In the first reading from today (Jer 31:7-9), the prophet Jeremiah beautifully speaks about God’s covenant with Israel. Jeremiah lived at a time of great crisis for the people of Israel, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians in the year 587 BC. This event and the later crisis of the deportation provoked Jeremiah’s outpouring of grief and mourning. The message of Jeremiah, however, was also one of hope. In the passage we heard today, the prophet envisages a new action of God. Jeremiah was convinced that God would restore Israel to well being. As the prophet explains, on account of the covenant, the Jewish people are in a permanent and unique relationship with God who loves and cares for them.

Hearing this message of Jeremiah today compels us to stand in close solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters at a time when this evil has been committed against them. We pray especially for those who have died and for their families. We pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters, whether they be in Pittsburgh or closer to home, that the words of the prophet Jeremiah may be realized in in their midst. With Jeremiah we pray that they may experience the restoration of God the father, that he might bind the lame among them and console them.

Solving Money Troubles

28th Sunday OT, year B | Mark 10:17-27

We have all probably heard someone speak about their “money troubles”. This usually refers to the fact that they do not have enough money. In the story of the rich young man that we heard in the Gospel today, Jesus completely inverts our normal understanding of how money can cause trouble in our lives. Instead of too little wealth being an issue, Jesus teaches us that having too much money is the problem.

Jesus explains to his disciples that having too much wealth can be a barrier to entering the kingdom of heaven. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”. Jesus’ disciples were “exceedingly astonished” when they heard this teaching. Why? One possible reason is that they thought that having wealth was considered a sign that you have God’s favour. In other words, if you were rich, then you were already in the kingdom of heaven. This idea is conveyed in certain passages in the Old Testament (e.g. Job 1:1). Just like us, the disciples probably thought that not having wealth was the problem. Jesus, however, says that the opposite is true. Having wealth makes it difficult, maybe even impossible, to enter the kingdom of heaven. If we stop and think about it, we can come up with some reasons why this makes a lot of sense. First, when we have many things, then it is too easy to think that we don’t need God. Second, when we have wealth, we tend to want more of it. The pursuit of material possessions can easily make us lose sight of what is most important in life. Third, the more things that we have, the more strictly we will be judged. “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). If God has blessed us with material wealth it is probably so that we can help others with it. While we may think that not having enough wealth is a problem, Jesus reminds us that the real problem is having too much.

James Tissot [No restrictions or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If having too much wealth is a serious problem that can prevent us from entering the kingdom of heaven, is the solution to give it all away? In the Gospel, Jesus tells the rich young man to sell all that he has and give it to the poor. Are we required to take this admonition literally? For some Christians, the answer was yes. A famous example is St. Anthony. He lived around the year 300, and was born into a relatively wealthy family in Egypt. When he was 18, Anthony’s parents died. Soon afterwards, he happened to enter a Church while Jesus’ teaching that we heard in the Gospel today was being proclaimed. Anthony understood the invitation to “go, sell what you have and give it to the poor” to be literally addressed to him. Leaving the Church, he sold his wealth, gave it to the poor and went to live as a monk in the desert. For some, the way of dealing with the problem that wealth poses to entering the kingdom of heaven is to give it all away like St. Anthony. Most of us, however, are probably not called to make such a radical renunciation of material goods.

While we may not be able to give literally everything we have to the poor, in order to overcome the barrier that wealth creates to entering the kingdom, we are required to give to the poor. A major message of today’s Gospel is that following Jesus needs to come before the pursuit of wealth. We are called to put our material goods at the service of following Christ. Because Jesus calls us to give to the poor, Christians have always viewed almsgiving as a serious obligation and not just some optional spiritual practice. Consider, for example, these words from St. Basil the Great:

The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.

Now, you may be wondering, if I need to give to the poor but cannot give everything, how much should I give? C. S. Lewis, the Christian scholar and author of the Narnia series gives a good answer:

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.

The Gospel today invites us to rethink what we consider to be “money troubles”. Having too much rather than too little wealth is an obstacle to entering the kingdom of heaven. The way to overcome this problem is by giving to the poor. Although how much we give is between us and God, we can be sure that this is something we will have to account for in the end.