The greatest commandment

Our Sunday gospel reading today is a message from our Lord Jesus Christ for all Christians to ponder deeply if we want eternal salvation for after life. You can read it in Matt.22: 34-40.

“When the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, you God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Actually this profession of faith came from Deuteronomy 6: 4-5, which reads, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” All devout Jews memorize this passage by heart and pray it every morning reciting in Hebrew reads “Sh’ma Yis’ra’eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad.”

But does following or obeying the greatest Commandment by loving God with all your heart and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself assure you of life eternal? Let’s find out by opening your Bible to Mark 12: 28-34. This is almost exactly the same as today’s gospel reading except the Lord gives us a very discomforting if not a disturbing twist.

“One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and, with a saw how well he had answered them, 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.”

That final statement from our Lord Jesus Christ… , “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” I found this quite disturbing. That is because any Christian who religiously obeys the Ten Commandments of God and treats his fellowman the way he treats himself isn’t apparently a guarantee that you are saved! You are merely “not far” from the Kingdom of God. So therefore we should ask ourselves… “How do we attain eternal life? I have written this piece so many times before and for the sake of our forgetful readers, I will repeat this very significant passage from John 6: 53.

“Jesus said to them, “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 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

Let me point out that this teaching shocked many of the disciples of Jesus and this is the first and only time Jesus mentions it. Because many couldn’t accept this teaching, they left Jesus and went back to their old ways. But did the Lord run after them to explain what this eating and drinking of his blood really mean? No, he did not elaborate any further.

No further explanation was needed for a statement that people of faith should take literally. Yet many Christian sects who interpret the Holy Bible literally do not embrace this particular teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we now have some 30,000 Christian denominations or sects, but there is only one Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church!

Instead of running after those disciples who left him, Jesus now turns to his Apostles and asks the question, “How about you, do you also want to leave?” St. Peter spoke for the Twelve and said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Actually this is St. Peter’s second confession about our Lord Jesus.

What I wrote today is a simple Theology as to why we must take Holy Communion or the Holy Eucharist because it really is a divine command, that if we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, we shall attain life eternal and isn’t this what religion is all about that we will finally see the face of God in heaven after we pass from this life to the next. God Bless!

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