''Leave it All on the Field'': A Reflection on the Gospel for November 4th, 2018: Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Mark 12:28-34 

The Greatest Commandment

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

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“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The first commandment requires me to love God. How much? More than just a lot. It is asking me to love God with everything. Love God with all I am and with all I have, holding nothing back and leaving it all on the field. I understand. Following that commandment may not be easy, but the meaning is clear.

The second commandment requires me to love my neighbour. How much? As much as I love myself. Well, how much do I love myself? To answer that question, I need to think about what makes up my “self”: my personality, my values, my abilities and gifts, my aspirations. To the extent that I freely allow God to shape these, God is born in me and at work in me—and I am commanded to love the God within me with all I am and with all I have, holding nothing back and leaving it all on the field.

But what about my weaknesses—my lack of faith, my impatience, my resentment and pride? They are part of me, and I certainly have plenty more of them. If I love myself, should I also love my
weaknesses? I don’t believe I should. The way I see it, I have two selves: the godly self and the weak self. The former is the best of me—what I rejoice in and share with God so that He can multiply it. The latter is the darkness in me—what I wrestle with and share with God so He can bring light to that darkness. This is the self to which I must die.

To greater or lesser degrees, my weaknesses are with me, but I am
more than my weaknesses. And, by God’s grace, I will overcome them as I walk through life. God has assured me that He will purify me. Who am I to reject what God has said? And, if God forgives me my moments of weakness, in humility I must follow His example and forgive myself, seventy times seven.

When I know my true value in the eyes of God—when I love myself—then I know how much I should love my neighbour, who is equally precious in the eyes of God.

"When I know my true value in the eyes of God—when I love myself—then I know how much I should love my neighbour, who is equally precious in the eyes of God."

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God loves you. Therefore you love you, and you love your neighbour. “There is no commandment greater than these.”

​Donna Davis