THE WORD THIS WEEKEND

At Catholic mass this weekend, you'll hear two readings with reference to commandments; one from Deuteronomy chapter 6 and the other from Mark's gospel chapter 12.

The first reading recounts a sermon that Moses gave to his followers.  He impressed them with the fact or hope that if they followed all of God's commandments, they would lead a long life.  These people were not ready to think about the afterlife. 

In Mark, we hear Jesus' answer to a query from a scribe (teacher of scripture) about which of the commandments (and they had plenty of them) was most important.  Here is Jesus' answer in brief: "Love God with all your heart and all your soul is most important; the second is Love your neighbor as yourself."  Jesus explained that all the law is included in these two.   It was that simple.

The other reading this week is from Paul's letter to the Hebrews chapter 7.  He told them that Jesus was much more than another teacher; another rabbi.  Paul told them that the rabbi, their connection to God, were only rabbis for the rest of their lives.  Jesus, on the other hand, is your connection to God forever.  Think about how long forever is compared to the rest of your life.  Rabbis, ministers, priests come and go - Jesus and His word are here forever - your connection to God. 
♱