A Commentary and Reflection on the Readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year B. The Liturgical Sense of the Scriptures Podcast, by Catholic Author and Theologian David L. Gray. READINGS: Deuteronomy 6:2-6, Hebrews 7:23-28, and Mark 12:28-34.
The Liturgy of the Catholic Mass is the Fulfillment of the Shema
Today’s First and Gospel Reading from Deuteronomy 6:2-6 and Mark 12:28-34, respectively, for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B exclaims the central declaration of faith in Judaism, known as the Shema. “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!” This profound affirmation of the faith in the one true God and the call to devote oneself entirely to Him is woven into the very fabric of Jewish life. It is among the first prayers lovingly taught to Jewish children and recited with solemn reverence as one’s final words before death. Observant Jews honor this commandment by reciting the Shema twice daily, in the morning and evening, as a mitzvah (religious commandment), considering it the most sacred part of the prayer service.
In the declaration, “. . . you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength,” Moses teaches that the Shema is a consequential tenet of the faith. This means that because our Lord is one and singular, it, therefore, follows that we must love and serve Him with everything we have – our heart through which we have natural life, our soul through which we have eternal life, and our strength that animates our embodied soul in this life. In other words, since God is our sole creator, provider, and sustainer, the appropriate response is to love God with every aspect of one’s being. It suggests that everything within a person, from physical strength to emotional capacity and spiritual fervor, should be directed towards honoring this singular divine presence.
The Shema thus serves not only as a statement of faith but also as a clarion call to action, urging believers to dedicate the totality of their gifts and existence to the service of God. It is a poignant reminder that the gifts and faculties we possess are not self-generated but graciously endowed by the Lord our God. Consequently, these gifts and faculties should be used in acknowledgment and reverence of that divine source. In this way, the Shema encapsulates the profound duty and privilege of devoting one’s entire being to the love and worship of the one true God, transforming every thought, word, and deed into an offering of gratitude and devotion.
While the Shema lays bare our sacred obligation to God, what of our duty to our fellow beings, created equally in His divine image? While the Shema does not explicitly address this, Jesus, when asked by the scribe, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” illuminates our path. He declares that the greatest commandment is indeed the Shema, yet immediately underscores a second, inextricable commandment: “The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Thus, Jesus extends our duty to God, teaching that our love for God compels us to love ourselves and, consequently, our neighbors. This teaching finds its roots in Leviticus 19:17-18: “You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” Indeed, our love and devotion to God is always reflected in our actions toward one another.
In response to Jesus intertwining the love of self and neighbor with the love of God, the scribe responded with profound insight, “. . . and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Unbeknownst to him, he spoke a prophetic truth, for Jesus Himself was the ultimate sacrifice, whose offering allows us to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves in the true sense. This is further illuminated in our Second Reading from Hebrews 7:23-28, which states, “It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself.”
The Shema finds its renewed expression and profound fulfillment in the Divine Symphony of the Catholic Mass. As we recite the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we echo the Shema’s declaration of monotheistic faith that we believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son. This powerful proclamation unites us with the core tenet of Judaism while enriching it with the revelation of the Holy Trinity.
This God of the Shema comes to us in intimate and transformative ways through the sacraments. In Baptism, He makes us holy, cleansing us from the original sin and permantly marking the beginning of our spiritual life. The sacraments restore and sustain our soul, with the Holy Eucharist as a pinnacle of divine communion. Through the Eucharist, we receive Christ Himself, who dwells within us, fortifying our bond with God and empowering us to live out the Shema in our daily lives.
As the celebration of Christ Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross concludes, we are sent forth – dismissed from the liturgy, not as passive spectators, but as active emissaries of the Shema we have professed. The liturgy, in its divine orchestration, shapes us into a people bound by the Shema and nourished by the Holy Eucharist, commissioning us to reflect these sacred truths in the melodies of our daily lives. Thus, we are encouraged to transform every moment and movement into a living testament of the Shema, letting our every thought, word, and deed resonate with the love and devotion we have confessed.
This is just one way the readings at Mass this Sunday connect to the liturgy and how the liturgy is forming us on how to live our lives in the world. Be in the world what you have received through the liturgy.
