Student Daily Reflection

[241] Hos 14:2-10
Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14+17
Mark 12:28-34

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer
The Daily Reflections

Today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark reminds me of many religious education classes of years past. After all, Jesus is explaining the very core of our Christian faith: we are called, first and foremost, to love God and to love our neighbors. I remember my religious ed teacher asking: “okay, now who knows the two most important commandments of our faith?” And the answer seemed so simple then – we just have to love.

Jesus’ teachings called the Jews at the time to simplify. As today’s reading says, to love God and to love our neighbors “is worth more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mk 12:33). The majority of Jesus’ followers came from a strictly Jewish background in which rules were very important; Jesus’ answer was incredibly radical for his time. I imagine him saying: “you are all too worried about the rules; the rules worked in the past, but all that you have been taught is no longer as important as simply loving God and loving each other.”

Truly reflecting on today’s readings can call to question our own faith today. How often do we Christians become caught up in the web of rules which surround us? “Don’t do that!” “Do this!” “Go to church every week” “You’ll get to heaven if ____.” Although religious doctrine was usually created as a guide for living out Jesus’ commandment to love, we sometimes forget about the meaning behind the way in which we live. I certainly do not intend to say that all rules today are bad. Rather, I believe that we need to remind ourselves that all of the rules and doctrines of Christianity today fall under Jesus’ one simple call to love God and to love each other. We must ask ourselves not if we follow the rules to a T but if we live our lives out of love for God and one another.

“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, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mk 12:29-31