Gospel Reflection For The 6th day of June in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mk 12:28-34
28 And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. 29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth, that there is one God, and there is no other besides him. 33 And that he should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength; and to love one's neighbour as one's self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. 34 And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
We may ponder today’s Gospel somewhat. Why, if Jesus just announced to the man that the Kingdom of God was near, did no one ask Him any further questions? Well, very likely they were afraid of the answers. Consider our discussion of the saints yesterday, what Saint Pio said about how if we could see clearly we would be surrounded by so many angels and demons that they would block out the sun. I don’t know about you, but that thought terrifies me! Many saints have said similar things, especially how Heaven and earth are joined at the Eucharist. Imagine, for just a moment, if we could see what was truly happening in the Eucharist… the presence of the Lord in His Holy Sacrifice, the angels and saints there with us singing praises, the demons and Satan screaming at us in anger and agony… literally, the Book of Revelations, the Apocalypse of Saint John before our eyes, with us, around us, in us…. Well, I would be terrified and in such awe I would likely be unable to move and perhaps even faint. But, this is reality, if only we could see it as it truly is.
The young man seems to have felt very confident when he questions Jesus. Then, he admired our Lord’s teaching. But, then he became silent when told that the Kingdom of God was near. If Jesus was the Messiah and God, that would change everything for him. We may understand that for the Jews of Jesus time. But, imagine if Jesus appeared here and now. Would we approach Him? Well, surely, we would run to Him! But, what would that then mean for our lives. We would look into the eyes of God, who knows our every sin and weakness. As much as we love Him, and in proportion to our love, we would be perfectly aware of our every flaw and everything we have done to hurt and disappoint Him.
Truly, the Kingdom of God is at hand. And that, is why Proverbs states, “fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2024 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3ZTXQB4
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic