Gospel
Mark 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.

Reflection
The message that’s somewhat hidden, in the words of Jesus to describe is this It's not about what you do that’s important. It's about what you allow God to do first.
The first commandment is to love him. And there is no way that human beings can love as completely as he's asking us to love God without first being inspired by, infused with, the love that God has for us. It's not an understanding of how things work. It's more, where is the power coming from? We're not capable of the kind of love that we’re asked to have for our brothers and ourselves unless we first know we are loved by God.

Closing Prayer
Father, we spend so much time trying to improve our lives so that you will love us. It is precisely the opposite. Anything that we can do in our life that makes it better is the result of what you first done for us. Bless us with the gift of knowing your love. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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