Sermon for November 3, 2024: Who to Love? based upon Mark 12:28-34

Mark 12:28-34 The First Commandment

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” 

​The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question.

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​     Today’s reading comes from a tense and stressful time in Jesus’ life as told in the book of Mark. This is a time when Jesus is both teaching and arguing with religious leaders in his own community. The arguments will soon come to a head, drawing the attention of the Roman authorities, the ones who have supreme power to end someone’s life. Powerful people are growing frustrated with him. Sometimes when powerful people are frustrated, they hurt people. I think that at this moment in the story, Jesus knows that his life is in danger, but that doesn’t stop him from teaching and it doesn’t stop him from engaging with the people he doesn’t agree with.

     In his commentary on this text, Sung Soo Hong points out that one of the interesting things about the Gospel of Mark is that the people in it aren’t always only doing good things or only doing bad things. Some characters, like some of the scribes, will do some pretty bad things, like plan to hurt Jesus. But, then, we have a story like todays. A scribe is asking Jesus good questions and giving him credit for answering the questions well.

     Does anyone remember what a scribe is? Scribes could read and write in a time when not everyone could. They usually had official jobs in the community. I found a nice description of their work written by a scholar named Anthony Saldini. A scribe could work copying by hand documents and contracts for everyday people. They could also be government officials, like in 2 Kings and Jeremiah who worked in areas like governmental finances, local governmental policy, and record-keeping. The Pharisees, that is the group of people who were most concerned with rigorously keeping Jewish law, might also have scribes to help keep track of their documents and make copies of texts for them. This is probably he kind of scribe Jesus is talking with because the scribes are almost always described as hanging out with the Pharisees.

     When we read that Jesus is having a conversation with a scribe, it seems like the author wants us to think that Jesus is having a conversation with a smart person who knows Jewish religious writing and practices well. And, it’s interesting that in a time of high tension, that one of the people who belongs to a group of people that has been arguing with Jesus seeks him out to have a good, fair conversation about their shared religious practices. It matters that this person, who has been primed to mistrust Jesus, seeks him out and really talks with him about something they both think is important.

     If you could ask Jesus a question, what would it be? Does anyone remember the question the scribe asked? Which commandment is the greatest of all? Does anyone remember how Jesus answered? He told them that two were most important. First, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” And, second: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The scribe, who’s life’s work was being immersed in their religious traditions, knew immediately that Jesus was right.

     There is a long history within Jewish tradition of understanding the two tablets of the Ten Commandments to basically be one table with instructions on loving God and another with instructions on loving neighbors, a fact that Amanda Brobst-Renaud mentions in her commentary on this text. She also notes that in many parts of Jewish literature, that is both the Hebrew Bible and works by important Jewish thinkers, love of God and love of neighbor can’t be separated. She quotes Philo’s commentary on the Ten Commandments, and says that “those who only love God or only love others are ‘half-perfect in virtue; for those only are perfect who have a good reputation in both points of loving God and humans’” (Decal. 108-110). Jesus follows this tradition, indicating that to fully follow the commandments, love of God must be paired with love of neighbor. I might even argue that our love of God is made complete in our loving actions towards our neighbors.

     I imagine that the coming days will bring much anxiety, as those of us allowed to vote cast our votes by next Tuesday, and as all of us wait for what we can reasonably assume will be at least a few days for winners to be declared. It is wise to set our expectations to expect days of hard work among those ensuring election integrity and also likely bad behavior from some people who are using chaos and misinformation to build power. I hope that we can find ways to ground ourselves as we wait. I think today’s reading may be able to provide some of that grounding.

     Let us be like the scribe and ask Jesus questions that are meaningful to our faith. Let us be like Jesus and respond to good faith questions with clear answers. Like the scribe, may we give credit where it is due. And, may our love of God be perfected in our love of neighbor. This is a key question in this moment: who is my neighbor and how do I show them love? As frustration and anxiety mount this week, may you remember God, who invites us into covenant, and propels us through love. And, may you extend that love to all your neighbors, speaking truth, offering care, and crafting beloved community even in tense times. In this time of tension and conflict, may we be blessed by conversations that remind us of the faith God calls us to. And, may we leave those conversations recommitted to love as Jesus calls us.
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Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Sun Soo Hong: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-31-2/commentary-on-mark-1228-34-7
Amanda Brobst-Renaud: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-31-2/commentary-on-mark-1228-34-6
Anthony Saldini's notes on scribes in Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Paul Achetemeier, ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1996)