“Which is the first of all the commandments?” (Mark 12:28)

In other words, is there one commandment that holds the hundreds and hundreds of commandments together?

Jesus’ reply is something very familiar to every Jew. Jesus says, “This is the first” – then Jesus quotes the famous passage known to all Jews: “Hear, O Israel!” (Deuteronomy 6:4) This Old Testament passage is so important to our Jewish friends that they have enshrined these very words on their doors in order to touch it every time they go in an out of their house.

“The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Jesus adds a second, however, to complete his response: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

The commandment to love your neighbor also comes from the Old Testament, from the Book of Leviticus.

Jesus takes a passage from Deuteronomy – love of God – and a passage from Leviticus – love your neighbor – and puts them together to give us the greatest commandment, the one that holds them all together.

They existed already before Jesus, but Jesus puts them together so that what previously was two separate commandments now is the single greatest commandment.

“There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31).

In the remaining weeks we have to complete our year-long reading of Mark’s Gospel at Mass, we will hear more from Jesus about what this means and, also, He also will show us – all of us to do ourselves.