(Mark 12:28-34)

By the time we reach the 12th chapter of Mark, Jesus finds himself in the middle of a kind of theological cross-examination free-for-all. Priests, scribes, elders and other assorted defenders of the letter of the law are swarming all over him. First there’s a question about divorce (with a follow-up from his own disciples), and nobody likes the answer. Then a question from a rich man about what he must do to inherit eternal life, and the answer is: the one thing you’re not willing to do. Then the disciples squabble over seating arrangements in the kingdom while the Lord sits on death row. Then Jesus stops to heal a blind man named Bartimaeus, and curses a poor little fig tree for not bearing fruit out of season.

That’s when a nameless scribe asks the simplest question: Which commandment is the most important of all? The simplest question turns out to be the most profound. There are some 613 commandments according to Jewish law. This scribe requested help in finding a focus around which to orient his obedience. Perhaps he himself was getting confused with so many competing commands (1)! Jesus' answer again amazed the crowd because it was simple, truthful and powerful. Jesus pulls together two well-known passages of Old Testament Scripture. One concerns itself with love(2) for God the other with love for your neighbour: a genuine love for God will express itself as love for others (1 John 4:20).

• Heart: pure devotion - commitment.
• Soul: full of passion. A hot-hearted, passionate, consuming love(3).
• Mind. Thoroughly considered - Control your mental diet
• Strength: fully lived out; love God in all that we do(4)
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There are two mistakes that people make when they think of this command to love God and to love your neighbour as yourself. The first is sentimentalism and the second is duty. Sentimentalism comes when you see love as simply a feeling; duty is when you see love as an obligation: neither of these extremes understand the idea of love as the expression of your relationship with Jesus Christ. I am asking you for something much more and much less than each of these two extremes. In terms of loving your neighbour (In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus defines our neighbour as anyone who needs our love or help (Luke 10:29-37)
I want you to recognise that your neighbour is the person who enables you to be the person that you have it within you to be. You need her as much as she needs you. In terms of God I am asking you to love the things of eternity and not to get side tracked by the things of the immediate here and now.

(1) Augustine was asked this question and replied ‘love God and do what you want’

(2) Unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, thoughtful love…an intentional response to promote well being when responding to that, which has generated ill-being. Compare this to the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown says that he loves all of humanity and Lucy replies that it is human beings who are the problem

(3) The word apathetic literally means "without passion." Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown was talking to Lucy. He remarked about the tragedy of so much apathy in the world today. Lucy responded, "Yeah, it’s terrible. But who cares?"

(4) You can tell what you love most by where you spend your time. Some people would find that their most all-consuming relationships are either with their computer or their television.