Posts Tagged ‘Mark 12:28-34’
Loving God – Br. Jack Crowley
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Br. Jack Crowley
A friend of mine got married right around the same time I joined the monastery. Over the years we’ve chatted about the ups and downs of vowed life. Although he is married and I am celibate, we still have a lot in common. We are both in love, we both live with other people in close quarters, and we both have our own shortcomings that make the vowed life rocky at times. I asked him once if he had just one piece of advice to give to someone in the vowed life, what would he say? He looked me in the eye and said the key to a successful marriage is knowing that not every day will be a home run.
I often think about that quote when I hear our Gospel passage from today, especially when Jesus tells us to love God with all our hearts. Yes, I do follow Jesus’ commandment here, but I’m not gushing, head over heels in love with God every day. Not every day is a home run, some days are just quiet days at the ballpark, and I’ve grown to love that. Read More
Listen Love – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Mark 12:28-34
What is most important? a scribe asked. Jesus answered consistent with the tradition: Love God and love neighbor. Jesus quotes both Deuteronomy, our first lesson, and Leviticus. Others had put these two together before. Jesus’ answer is not new. They weave together through scripture.
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This central, frequent prayer of Judaism is the first one taught to children. It goes with binding on the forehead and placing on the doorpost. Remember this foremost. The prayer is called shema, from the first word “hear” or “listen.” Don’t miss the start. The call to listen is threads through scripture, as from prophets: “Listen to me, my people” (Isaiah 51). The psalmist cries, “Hear, O my people … oh, that you would listen to me” (Psalm 81). Similarly, The Rule of St. Benedict begins: “Listen.”
It is so easy and normalized to be caught up in noise around and within, preoccupied with plans and intentions, actions, and questions, caught up in the whirl of emotions, and caught stroking anxieties. God speaks through the Psalms: “Be still and know that I am God.” Read More
Hidden Presence – Br. Lain Wilson
Mark 12:28-34
Psalm 81:8-14
Hosea 14:1-9
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Jesus identifies who—and what—God is. He also offers up an indictment of all the alluring temptations in sight that lead us astray from a God who all too often remains hidden from us.
“O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not worship a foreign god” (Ps 81:8-9). This command is repeated throughout Scripture, and yet the pages of Scripture are filled with rebuke and lament for the failure to keep to this basic commandment.
This turning away, though, isn’t surprising, because our God is often hidden. In times of anxiety and uncertainty, we crave what is visible, tangible, assured. What people, institutions, processes, products do you turn to for assurance, for certainty? What are your idols today? Read More