B: 31st Sun of OrdTime (4 Nov 2018) - WITH ALL THAT WE HAVE - Mk 12:28-34

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deut 6:5)”. “And 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 (Mk 12:20).”

The loving of the Lord our God: this is the first and greatest commandment, codified in both the Old and New Testaments, as reflected in the passages above, respectively. However, there is a vital difference between the two: the latter is longer, containing the phrase “with all your mind” that is absent in the former. We then ask why did Jesus insert this phrase to the sacrosanct commandment handed to Moses? Additionally, we suspect too why in the OT the use of one’s mental capacity in loving God is restrained. Is religion something that is supposedly unintelligible and is relegated only to the emotional ascent of heart, soul and strength? And is it true that it was only in Jesus’ teaching that the mind became equally relevant in worship?

The original Hebrew statement of Deut 6:5 is “bekol-lebabka ûbĕkol-napšĕkā ûbĕkol-mĕʾōdekā.” Commonly, the first phrase “bekol-lebabka” is translated into English as “with all your heart,” presupposing that “leb = heart.” This equation, however, does not totally capture the meaning of “leb” which in the Hebrew lexicon is a reference to several things: heart, inner self, inclination, disposition, determination, courage, will, intention, reason, mind, and conscience (cf. HALOT). This one word is inclusive of almost everything inside the human body. It is a total package. That is probably the reason why Matthew, in his parallel rendition of the greatest commandment, did not include “with all your strength” (see Mt. 22:37; compare with Lk 10:27); he may have considered that “strength” is included already in the word “leb”.

Jesus, in our gospel, henceforth, was not introducing something new. He was simply expounding what were hidden, or at least, what had been blurred by the society. The “mind” is already included in the “heart”, and so are the “soul” and the “strength”. Even the second commandment of the “loving of neighbor” is already expressed in Lev. 19:18. The OT ordained already the love-commandment. Jesus was just making it intelligible to the people of his time who tended to forget the true spirit of the law, i.e., undivided love of God.

Nowadays, we are inclined to do away with old traditions and beliefs. Our decisions are chiefly based on what are performed by the many, economically practical, non-labor-intensive, and hyped by the media. However, in considering mainly comfort over meritorious matters, we blur the true value behind these mores and practices. But our readings today teach us that true love of God is something integral: it is not only a matter of personal preference and comfort (=the heart) but includes reasonableness of values (=the mind), as well as the right state of our conscience (=the soul) and the determination to persevere (=strength).

It then makes more sense why we use the word “holiness” as an attribute of a saintly person. It is because it is nearer to the word “wholeness” since true holiness or sanctity is an integral ascent of the whole heart, mind, soul and strength to God. And in striving for “holiness,” one will eventually be made “whole” again by God. We then begin this journey toward wholeness by surrendering to God with all that we have: with the whole heart, mind, soul and strength.

- Rex Fortes, CM