Mass readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Deuteronomy 6.2-6 Psalm 181-3, 6, 46 & 50 Hebrews 7.23-28 Mark 12.28-34
“Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one…”
We’ve heard these words so many times; ancient words that have rung down the centuries, and they are quite unique in their sentiment. They express an intensity of devotion to God, above tribe and nation, family and faction even as they are addressed to a specific community – the people of God. And yes, historically speaking this is an exhortation to the people of the ancient kingdom of Israel, to the people of Judea; that nation constituted out of the twelve tribes, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
But with the revelation of Christ, a new Israel has been created out of all those who believe in Jesus Christ, and put their faith in him. And so, these words, found originally in the Book of Deuteronomy, spoken by Jesus in the gospels, this now is understood to be addressed to us today.
And what we must understand about these ancient words is just how revolutionary they were in their time, and how they continue to be so today.
Yes, there have been other kingdoms and republics, empires and federations that have pledged themselves to their gods, but what is expressed here is quite unique in the totality of commitment. Other cults of empire, of the great ancient cities, they had their gods to whom sacrifice was owed, honour was to be given. But once that obligation was reasonably met, the payment made, the oxen and sheep slaughtered and laid on the altar, well one was free to think of whatever was left of the riches, the plunder from war, the surplus of the harvest, that was fair game for whomever could grab it by honest means, or even dishonestly. This all reflects what I’ve spoken of often, the idea that power is what the world is about; and for one’s portion of power, you paid off your superiors. Not unlike the mafia, each member is expected to pay off his boss, and each boss his boss, all the way up the chain of corruption. Except, of course, for a Babylonian, a Roman, a Macedonian, an Assyrian, this was not a matter of corrupting power, but was simply the way the world worked. And we see some of this backsliding in the hypocrisy of those today who indulge in virtue signalling in place of actually being good people; in elites who feel that making a big cash donation or even just lending their celebrity to a cause buys them permission and the power to be as degenerate as they want in their private lives. Think of all those caught up in the scandals surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and now, Sean “Diddy” Combs.
This revolutionary conception of the one God of Israel makes no such bargains for power. His is the power and the glory, and all that we are should be devoted to him; and the sacrifice we make, the payment that is due… Well, for one, it will never be sufficient, even as it is the whole of us that we offer our Lord. No, the offering is to be total: all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Measure that how you will, but it still adds up to all of who we are.
Now, it’s obvious from history, from the scriptural account of Israel’s ancient history, that no one save Christ has ever met this standard of total offering; that among the nations, no people have ever managed it either. Yet what we also know from history is that for those who strive nonetheless to make this offering, to set this as the height of their aspirations, they are blessed. To the degree they turn from God, and refuse to make the sacrifices he asks for, then these nations, kingdoms, empires, they begin to falter and eventually fail.
And to be clear the sacrifice is first and foremost found in our lives as they are lived either in virtue or in vice. Are we principally a sinful people? Those who fall well short of the mark set for us by God in his commandments, and really don’t care that we fail? Or are we those who gladly sacrifice for God who we conceive of as perfect truth, justice, compassion… perfect love; and so, we are careful to always uphold these virtues as they are aspects of the divine, facets of the image of God whose absolute perfection we can glimpse in in the person of Christ, that we catch sight of when we render service to others, in the work we do for God.
We do live in difficult times in which there is a great deal of pressure to pick sides in any number of conflicts, be on the winning team regardless of the real substance of its moral convictions: we’ve heard that warning to be “on the right side of history” (making “history” god). These are all playing into our desire to make that totalizing commitment, to love something as fiercely as we ought to love God. Some of us have experienced what happens when we fail to side with someone who confronts us on where we stand on a given issue: you become the enemy, and it’s as if you stand on the side of the devil, and they with the angels. All in Christ remain friends in their disputes. We don’t join today’s opposing camps even as we might find agreement with one or the other from time to time. We don’t give our hearts and minds to them, but serve the Lord. And we hope that by building up this new Israel, the Church, we create a third option, a space and an opportunity for discussion of matters on the basis of sound and consistent morality that aligns with the Apostolic tradition, the teachings of Christ.
As I’ve mentioned in recent weeks, we are in a process of reviewing and revising our stewardship as a parish. We are reorganizing our governance, in obedience to the bishop respecting the Forward Together in Christ initiative, and with regard to the Pope’s call for renewal through synodality. And we are taking stock of what we are doing in terms of how our time, talent and treasure is being used in response to the ancient call of God to love him with all that we are; and to honour Christ’s famous addendum to it: to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.
Are we deepening our relationship with God in Christ? Are we learning our faith? Are we growing day by day, to listen more closely to his word, to see with greater clarity the spiritual reality of our existence, and so, to walk in his company? Because if we truly love ourselves, that is, want what is best for ourselves, this is what we are called to do. Who cares what the world thinks of it.
Well, we do have our adult faith formation programs (Alpha, “What We Believe” and in Lent the series on Vatican II; next Saturday the seminar on The Divine Mercy) our programs for children and youth now beginning (The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for our little ones; the Challenge and Conquest Clubs for our pre-teens). Are we signing up to these or other offerings from sister parishes and the diocese? Are we supporting these with the sense of commitment that is expressed in the first and greatest commandment?
How about our loving others? What are we doing to reach out and offer the peace of Christ; the salvation of the Lord to lost souls? To our children, and our children’s children? What are we doing to deepen our understanding and skills as ministers? There are the ministry seminars for our musicians, liturgical ministers, but also parish and diocesan offerings for everyone to deepen their understanding of issues around such things as mental health, aging, broader social issues. They are to form us all whether we find ourselves part of a parish ministry, an apostolate of the greater church, or as an individual challenged in personal life to care and support another. Are we signing up? Are we supporting these? Because these efforts are very much about loving our neighbour by helping them come to know Christ.
If I were to characterize where the Church is today, those who are actually here, and not the many more hold themselves back from that total devotion we’re called to; I would say that people are hearing the call to love God, but aren’t sure as to how to respond.
And so, this is the work of the parish as a community in the coming months and years; as we work through the recommendations of Forward Together in Christ, as we, with the Holy Father, figure out just what synodality means for us as a community of faith called to action.
So, the call today, the message today, is listen to those words of the greatest commandment and give them a fresh hearing. How are we responding? As individuals? As a parish community? As someone fortunate enough to have a little extra money? As someone with time on their hands? As someone gifted with abilities that can be of service to God, and the to world he loves? How far off are we from the kingdom of God? Well, if that is our salvation, we can never get too close.
Amen.