Friday March 8, 2024

Mark 12:28-34

You are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven!!! These words are taken right from the lips of Jesus as he sees this one scribe say “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.”

We might wonder if there was any question at all about this. But religion around the time of Jesus had gotten so ridiculous, so corrupt that more emphasis was placed on things, than on the people. Indeed being religious was about checking boxes not living the faith. In the name of religion they despised the poor and weak. In the name of religion or in the name of being pure they completely forgot about God’s favorite people, those who struggle. And so it was with a sigh of relief that Jesus heard one of the scribes go back to the fundamentals. That is where we need to go friends. We need to focus on the God who comes to us through our weak and struggling neighbor.