Love God and He will bless us abundantly!

Today's Gospel reading is perhaps one of the most important teachings we need to learn about the Catholic faith...entitled "The Greatest Commandment and you will find it in Mark 12:28-34.

"28 One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well [Jesus] had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" 29 Jesus replied, "The first is this; 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! 30 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this; 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

32 The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' 33 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." 34 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."

This particular passage came directly from our Jewish brethren where every devout Jewish man memorized this passage called the "She-ma". This is a liturgical prayer consisting of three Scriptural passages (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41) recited twice daily (once in morning services and during evening services) by adult Jewish males to affirm their faith and show their love of God. It is for this reason why after Jesus answered the scribe, no one bothered to ask him any more questions. They merely wanted to know whether he was a good Jew or not.

Since Christianity emanated from the Jewish faith, we Catholics must also learn to memorize or recite the "She-ma" everyday. If we do so, God would give us his blessings. Let me cite what is written in Deuteronomy 11:13-15, "If then, you truly heed my commandments, which I enjoin you today, loving and serving the Lord your God, with all your heart and all your soul, 14 I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in. 15 I will bring forth grass in your fields for your animals. Thus you may eat your fill."

From this reading we can see that our loving God with all our heart, all our mind and all our strength is not a one-way street... he also returns our love with countless blessings and abundance. Indeed, without rain, we in Cebu would have no water to drink! But we have to remain faithful to God's commandments because we know God is a jealous god. The continuation of this passage in Deuteronomy clearly points to that.

"16 But be careful lest your heart be so lured away that you serve other Gods and worship them. 17 For then the wrath of the Lord will flare up against you and he will close up the heavens, so that no rain will fall, and the soil will not yield its crops, and you will soon perish from the good land he is giving you. 18 Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them at your wrist as a sign, and let them be a pendant on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children, speaking of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. 20 And write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on the land, which the Lord swore to your fathers, he would give them."

I'd like to point out that I'm not trying to scare you to love God. I'm only repeating what has been written thousands of years ago! What we need to know is that God created our soul and it is only fitting that we love the one who created us and he responds to our loving him... that is his promise.

Lastly, after all that we've learned today and followed God's commandments, listen to what our Lord Jesus said to the scribes, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Of course, what our Lord Jesus Christ was saying is that, if we love God, he would return our Love with countless blessings and abundance. However, obeying God's commandments only is not a surefire guarantee of achieving eternal life.

When someone asks you if you already have a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and tells you that if you believe in him, you will never die... you can answer that person the same reply our Lord Jesus gave to the scribes, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." So if they ask, "How then can we gain eternal life?" The answer lies in your Bible if you opened to John 6: 53 when Jesus said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you... whoever eats this bread will live forever." Yes, I'm referring to the Holy Eucharist. Too many Christians believe that this is only a symbol, but alas for them, it is not a symbol. Our Lord Jesus is ever present; body, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist when we take him in Holy Communion.

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit's columns can also be accessed at www.shootinginsidecebu.blogspot.com