+(Intro) This morning we will hear from the prophet Hosea telling us to “say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands;” for it is in the Lord the orphan finds compassion. So let us acknowledge our orphaned state and need of God’s compassion.
When the scribe repeats the great commandment of love, Jesus does not hesitate to commend him and to say he was not far from the Kingdom of God. To love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our understanding, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is worth more than any burnt offering or sacrifice.
Isn’t this at the very heart of our Christian and monastic way of life, to love ceaselessly for it is to share in God’s very own divine life. It is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and let the Body and Blood of the Lord we receive at this altar, to nourish the whole of our lives.
To love is to let God and neighbor to be the center of our lives, to surrender to a divine presence that is with us all day, all night long. May we have the courage to be open to such an unimaginable gift.
Hos 14:2-10; Mark 12:28b-34