Mc 12,28-34 – Friday of the Third Week of Lent
«What is the first of all the commandments?». The evangelist Mark reports this question that a scribe asked Jesus. It’s not a trivial question. In Judaism of the time there were many religious prescriptions, and scholars of the Law often discussed which commandment was the most important, the one capable of summarizing all the others.
The scribe, listening to Jesus’ teaching, wants to understand whether what He says is truly in continuity with the religious tradition of Israel or whether he proposes something heretical. The novelty lies not so much in the content of the words, but in the way in which Jesus unites them. He states that you cannot choose between the love of God and the love of neighboras if they were two alternative paths. They are two dimensions of the same love.
There cannot be a true love for God that does not translate into concrete love towards others. And, at the same time, a love towards others that excludes God risks becoming fragile, ambiguous, easily conditioned by our interests. This unity between love of God and love of neighbor it is also a great test for our spiritual life. Sometimes we may think we love God through prayer, rituals, religious practices, but if this is not reflected in the way we treat the people around us, then something is not working. In the same way we can work hard for others, for justice, for solidarity, but if we lose the reference to God we risk reducing everything to a purely human effort and some ideological drift.
The Christian faith, after all, it is not first of all a system of norms, but a school of love. A love that comes from God and which, precisely for this reason, is capable of reaching every person we meet along the path of our life.
Friday 13 March 2026 – (Friday of the Third Week of Lent)
