Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10
Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, 'Our god,'
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion."
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
"I am like a verdant cypress tree"?
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17
R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
"I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you."
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?"
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt."
R.I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them."
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
Gospel Mk 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
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."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Reflections:
What is the right and sure way to peace, happiness,
and abundant life? The prophet Hosea addressed this question with his religious
community - the people of Israel. Hosea's people lived in a time of economic
anxiety and fear among the nations. They were tempted to put their security
in their own possessions and in their political alliances with other nations
rather than in God. Hosea called his people to return to God to receive
pardon, healing, and restoration. He reminded them that God would "heal
their faithlessness and love them freely" (Hosea 14:4). God's ways are
right and his wisdom brings strength and blessing to those who obey him.
How does love and obedience to God’s law go together? The Pharisees
prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements.
They made it a life-time practice to study the six hundred and thirteen
precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries.
They tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did.
Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law
of God and its purpose. What does God require of us? Simply that we love
as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for
us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding
grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love
of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of
God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is
hateful and contrary to his will.
What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God
and hope in his promises strengthen us in the love of God. They are essential
for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we
know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we
believe and hope in his promises. The Lord, through the gift of the Holy
Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves (Galatians 5:13). Do
you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving
others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint
us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love
which conquers all?
"We love you, O our God; and we desire to love you more and more. Grant
to us that we may love you as much as we desire, and as much as we ought.
O dearest friend, who has so loved and saved us, the thought of whom is
so sweet and always growing sweeter, come with Christ and dwell in our
hearts; that you keep a watch over our lips, our steps, our deeds, and
we shall not need to be anxious either for our souls or our bodies. Give
us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts
pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love
us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let
our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by
this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son."
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