June 4, 2026
Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 356
Reading 1
Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with eternal glory.
This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
Remind people of these things
and charge them before God to stop disputing about words.
This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.
Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God,
a workman who causes no disgrace,
imparting the word of truth without deviation.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
R. (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060426.cfm
Commentary on 2
Timothy 2:8-15
Paul reminds Timothy today that Jesus is both descended from
David and risen from the dead. This tells us that Jesus is both one of
us, because he descended from a human being, and also divine, because of his
rising from death to life. Since Christ is God, his death has infinite
value. Since he shares our human nature, he could rightfully offer himself in
our place.
This is the heart of the gospel that Paul has preached and,
because of that, he is now in chains. He is presented as being in prison
awaiting sentence or even execution. But he emphasises, there is no way
that the word of God can be chained. There is no way that Truth can be
permanently suppressed. Truth always will out (if one may paraphrase
Shakespeare). Many witnesses to the gospel have proved that over the centuries,
right down to our own day. Prison and torture often have the very opposite
effect; they only increase the desire to make the truth known.
So Paul will gladly undergo any suffering so that those
called to believe in Christ will experience salvation in Jesus’ name. No
suffering is too great if it brings about the salvation of God’s chosen ones
who have yet to believe, a salvation which finds its climax in eternal
companionship with Christ in glory.
To illustrate his teaching, he quotes from what seems to be
an early Christian hymn:
If we have died with him,
we will also live with him; (see Rom 6:8)
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
(see Matt 10:22,33; Luke 12:9)
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
he cannot deny himself. (see Num 23:19; Rom 3:3-4)
The point to which Paul appeals is that suffering for Christ
will be followed by glory. If we fully identify ourselves with the Christ who
died on the cross, we shall also enter into glory with him. It is an
exhortation to all of us to persevere in following Jesus, even when it involves
difficulties and dangers.
But “if we deny him, he will also deny us”. This is
certainly not to be understood as a tit-for-tat situation. It is
unthinkable that God could act in that way. Rather, if we abandon the
gospel or part of it for some temporary advantage, then we, by our own choice,
are no longer with him.
Even when we are unfaithful, God himself remains always
consistently faithful in his love for us. He cannot change. But neither
can he compromise to accept us when we are in denial of truth and love. It is
not he who abandons us, but we him. The choice is up to us and, if we are
to be free, he must recognise our choice to separate from him.
In the final words in the reading, Timothy is told to tell
the people “to avoid wrangling over words”. Paul’s warning seems to be directed
at those who are being caught up in the ideas of Gnosticism. Two leaders
of this heresy, Hymenaeus (see 1 Tim 1:20) and Philetus, denied the bodily resurrection
and probably asserted that there is only a spiritual resurrection (similar to
the error mentioned in 1 Cor 15:12-19). Gnosticism interpreted the
resurrection allegorically or symbolically, but not as a reality. Paul
told the Corinthians that:
…if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is
in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Cor 15:14)
In a final piece of advice, Timothy is told that all that
matters in our lives is that we try to make ourselves deserving of God’s
approval, and we do that by consistently preaching and living the truth. It is
a teaching we need to hear and implement in our own lives too.
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Commentary on Mark
12:28-34
Not all the Pharisees and Scribes were hostile to Jesus—we
have Nicodemus as one very good example. And here today we have a scribe who
approaches Jesus with no apparently hostile motive. He had seen how well Jesus
had dealt with the challenges put to him by various groups. He now comes to ask
a question which was much debated among scholars.
There were more than 600 commandments in the Jewish Law, and
it was often asked which of these had priority over the others. Unusual for
him, Jesus immediately answers the man’s question. Was this because, unlike on
other occasions, it was asked with politeness and respect and was a genuine
request for an opinion?
In answering the question Jesus does not give just one
commandment but two:
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength.
and
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Both answers are taken from the Law of Moses (Deut 6:4-5 and
Lev 19:18 respectively) and so satisfy his questioner’s request. However, as we
read through the New Testament and especially the words of Jesus in the Gospel,
we know that Jesus gives his own twist to these two commandments.
First, in answering a question about which is the most
important commandment, he gives two commandments which, in his view, are quite
inseparable; one cannot be kept without the other. We cannot say we love God
and then refuse to love our neighbour. He will make two other refinements. He
will extend the meaning of ‘neighbour’ to include every single person and not
just the people of one’s own race, religion or family (see Luke 10:30-37). And
he will set as the standard of love, not just the love we are able to show, but
the depth of love which he will show by dying for us (John 15:13).
The scribe is very pleased with the answer that Jesus gives
and expresses full agreement, and:
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him,
“You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
That is to say, the scribe is very close to having the
spirit of the gospel and to the following of Jesus. He still has to make the
crucial step of committing himself to follow Jesus and become actively involved
in the work of the Kingdom.
Whether Nicodemus or this scribe took that step or not we do
not know. However, we can make our choice to start today or renew our commitment
to keep this double commandment and to reflect on how well we put them
together.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2095g/
Thursday,
June 4, 2026
9th Week in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Father,
your love never fails. Hear our
call. Keep us from danger and provide for all our needs.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Mark 12: 28-34
One of the scribes put a question
to Jesus, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?' Jesus replied, 'This is
the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord, and you must
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your
neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.' The scribe
said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one
and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your
understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, this is far
more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.' Jesus, seeing how wisely
he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that
no one dared to question him anymore.
Reflection
The Gospel today presents a
beautiful conversation between Jesus and a Doctor of the Law. The doctor wants
to know from Jesus which is the first of the commandments. Today, also many
persons want to know what is most important in religion. Some say: to be
baptized. Others, to pray. Others say: to go to Mass or to participate in the
worship on Sunday. Others say: to love your neighbor! Others are worried about
the appearance or the charges or tasks in the Church.
•
Mark 12: 28: The question of the Doctor of the
Law. A doctor of the Law, who had seen the debate of Jesus with the Sadducees
(Mk 12: 23-27), was pleased with the response of Jesus, and he perceives in him
a great intelligence and wants to profit of this occasion to ask him a
question: Which is the first one of all the commandments?” At that time the
Jews had an enormous number of norms which regulated, in practice, the
observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said: “All these
norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It does not belong
to us to introduce distinctions in the things of God”. Others would say: “Some
Laws are more important than others, that is why they oblige more!” The Doctor
wanted to know Jesus’ opinion.
•
Mark 12: 29-31: The response of Jesus. Jesus
responds by quoting a passage of the Bible to say that the first commandment is
“to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your
strength!” (Dt 6: 4-5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews made of this text
of Deuteronomy a prayer which they recited three times a day: in the morning,
at noon and in the evening. Among them it was known as today we know the Our
Father. And Jesus adds, quoting the
Bible again: the second one is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other more important
commandment than this one”. (Lev 19: 18). A brief and profound response! It is
the summary of all that Jesus has taught about God and about life (Mt 7: 12).
•
Mark 12: 32-33: The answer of the doctor of the
Law. The Doctor agrees with Jesus and draws the conclusion: “To love him with
all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself; this is far more important than any burnt offering or
sacrifice”. In other words, the commandment of love is more important than the
commandments related to worship and sacrifice in the Temple. This affirmation
was already used by the prophets of the Old Testament (Ho 6: 6; Ps 40: 6-8; Ps
51: 16- 17). Today, we would say that the practice of love is more important
than novenas, promises, Masses, prayers, and processions.
•
Mark 12: 34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms
the conclusion reached by the Doctor and says: “You are not far from the
Kingdom of God!” In fact, the Kingdom of God consists in recognizing that love
toward God is equal to the love of neighbor. Because if God is Father, we all
are sisters and brothers and should show this in practice, living in community.
"On these two commandments depend the Law and the prophets” (Mt 22: 4).
The disciples must keep in mind, fix in their memory, in their intelligence, in
the heart, in the hands and in the feet this important law of love: God is only
attained through the total gift of self to our neighbor!
•
The first and most important commandment. The
most important and first commandment was and will always be: “to love God with
all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12: 30). In
the measure in which the People of God, throughout the centuries, has deepened
the meaning and the importance of the love of God, it has become aware that
God’s love is true and real only in the measure in which it is made concrete in
the love to neighbor. And thus, the second commandment which asks for the love
for neighbor, is like the first commandment of God’s love (Mt 22: 39; Mk 12:
31). “Anyone who says I love God, and hates his brother, is a liar” (1 Jn 4:
20). “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets too” (Mt
22: 40).
Personal Questions
•
For you, what is more important in religion and
in life? Which are the concrete difficulties that you find, in order to be able
to live that which you consider more important?
•
Jesus tells the doctor: “You are not far from
the Kingdom of God”. Today, am I nearer or farther away from the Kingdom of God
than the doctor praised by Jesus?
Concluding Prayer
Direct me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths.
Encourage me to walk in your truth and teach me since you
are the God who saves me. (Ps 25: 4-5)
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