ACC ~ Mark 12 v28 - 40

OVERVIEW:

To love God truly is to love God with all that you are as body, soul and spirit (GREGORY OF NYSSA). Loving God with the whole heart cannot be split apart into diverse, creaturely loves. The love of God loves all else in relation to the one incomparably lovable. It emerges only through the death of creaturely idolatries (BASIL). To confess the one true God is to renounce all false gods (ORIGEN). If the Lord of all fills all things in heaven and earth, then there is no room left for a second supposed god (ATHANASIUS). The majesty of God is best honored through lowly service to the needy neighbor, not by words alone (CHRYSOSTOM, PSEUDO-CLEMENT). Singlemindedly loving God by showing mercy to the neighbor brings one to a higher level of accountability than do any sacrificial burnt offerings (CALLISTUS). Love of God and neighbor cannot be disjoined so that one is thought more important than the other (BEDE). All virtues—prudence, fortitude, temperance and justice—are encompassed in this twofold command (CHRYSOSTOM, AUGUSTINE). Our common capacity to reason makes us partners with all other human beings (AUGUSTINE). Faith cannot remain silent in response to the Arian charge that because God is one, the Son cannot be God (HILARY OF POITIERS). He is son of David according to his humanity and Lord of David according to his divinity (AUGUSTINE). To the extent that the incarnate identity of the giver of the command remained unrecognized, the questioner would remain unready to grasp the depths of the great commandment, even if the formal scope of the command is understood (HEGEMONIUS, HILARY OF POITIERS, PSEUDO-JEROME).

12:29 | The Lord Is One

GOD FILLS ALL THINGS

ATHANASIUS: Since God is one, [1] it is ridiculous to suppose that there could be still another “Lord” of heaven and earth in addition to the Lord who is one. There is simply no room for a second Lord of all, if the one true God fills all things in the compass of heaven and earth. AGAINST THE HEATHEN 6.4. [2]

[1] Cf. Deut 6:4.

[2] NPNF 2 4:7**; TLG 2035.001, 6.22-25. By definition, there can only be one Lord of all.

THE ONE GOD

HILARY OF POITIERS: If sacred truth, when challenged by blasphemy, is met by silence, even that silence may be falsely construed as consent. This is what has happened in the case of the Arian assertion that because God is one, therefore his Son is not God. … The same one who authorizes us to confess the Son of God as God justifies us in proclaiming the one God. ON THE TRINITY 5.1-2. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0433, 62.5.1.5; NPNF 2 9:85**; cf. FC 25:135. God the Son is truly God, even as God the Father is truly God.

12:30a | You Shall Love the Lord Your God

SPENDING THE POWER OF LOVE ON WHAT IS UNWORTHY

BASIL: It is not the privilege of any chance person to go forward to the perfection of love and to learn to know him who is truly beloved, but of him who has already “put off the old man, which is being corrupted through its deceptive lusts, and has put on the new man,” [1] which is being renewed that it may be recognized as an image of the creator. Moreover, he who loves money and is aroused by the corruptible beauty of the body and esteems exceedingly this little glory here, since he has expended the power of loving on what is not proper, he is quite blind in regard to the contemplation of him who is truly beloved. EXEGETIC HOMILIES, HOMILY 17. [2]

[1] Eph 4:22, 24.

[2] TLG 2040.018, 29.392.14-24; FC 46:278-79. The perfect love of God is learned only through the costly death of idolatries.

12:30b | With All Your Heart

RENOUNCING OTHER GODS

ORIGEN: When you decide to keep the command of this precept and reject all other gods and lords and have no god or lord except the one God and Lord, you have declared war on all others without treaty. When, therefore, we come to the grace of baptism, renouncing all other gods and lords, we confess the only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [1] ON EXODUS, HOMILY 8.4. [2]

[1] Cf. Mt 28:19.

[2] FC 71:322-23. If with all your heart you love God, other proximate, temporal loves must take their place within this framework.

NO DIVISION INTO PARTS

BASIL: The expression, “with the whole,” admits of no division into parts. As much love as you shall have squandered on lower objects, that much will necessarily be lacking to you from the whole. EXEGETIC HOMILIES, HOMILY 17. [1]

[1] TLG 2040.018.29.392.27-30; FC 46:279. Love for God with a pure heart cannot be divided or apportioned into various loves for various creatures.

12:30c | With All Your Soul, Mind and Strength

THREEFOLD UNITY IN LOVING WITH ONE’S WHOLE SELF

GREGORY OF NYSSA: Human life consists in a threefold unity. We are taught similarly by the apostle in what he says to the Ephesians, praying for them that the complete grace of their “body and soul and spirit” may be preserved at the coming of the Lord. We use the word “body,” for the nutritive part, the word for the vital, “soul,” and the word “spirit” for the intellective dimension. In just this way the Lord instructs the writer of the Gospel that he should set before every commandment that love to God which is exercised with all the heart and soul and mind. [1] This single phrase embraces the human whole: the corporeal heart, the mind as the higher intellectual and mental nature, and the soul as their mediator. ON THE MAKING OF MAN 8.5. [2]

[1] Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30; Lk 10:27.

[2] TLG 2017.079, 145.40-148.1; NPNF 2 5:394**.

12:31a | Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

CONFESSING THROUGH ACTIONS

PSEUDO- CLEMENT: So then, brothers, let us acknowledge him in our actions by loving one another, [1] by not committing adultery [2] or slandering one another [3] or being jealous, [4] but by being self-controlled, compassionate and kind. [5] And we ought to have sympathy for one another, and not be avaricious. By these actions let us acknowledge him, and not by their opposites. 2 CLEMENT 3.4. [6]

[1] Cf. Jn 13:35; 15:12; 1 Jn 3:11.

[2] Cf. Ex 20:14; Gal 5:19.

[3] Cf. Prov 10:18.

[4] Cf. Prov 6:34.

[5] Cf. Eph 4:32; 1 Pet 3:8.

[6] AF 69-70; cf. FC 1:67; TLG 1271.002, 4.3.1-4.2.

THE SUMMIT OF VIRTUE

CHRYSOSTOM: This is the summit of virtue, the foundation of all God’s commandments: to the love of God is joined also love of neighbor. [1] One who loves God does not neglect his brother, nor esteem money more than a limb of his own, but shows him great generosity, mindful of him who has said, “Whoever did it to the least of my brothers did it to me.” [2] He is aware that the Lord of all considers as done to himself what is done in generosity to the poor in giving relief. He does not take into consideration the lowly appearance of the poor, but the greatness of the One who has promised to accept as done to himself what is given to the poor. [3] HOMILIES ON GENESIS, HOMILY 55.12. [4]

[1] Cf. Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31; Lk 10:27.

[2] Mt 25:40.

[3] Cf. Mt 25:31-46.

[4] FC 87:113*; TLG 2062.112, 54.483.19-34.

LOVING GOD THROUGH NEIGHBORS

BEDE: Neither of these two kinds of love is expressed with full maturity without the other, because God cannot be loved apart from our neighbor, nor our neighbor apart from God. [1] Hence as many times as Peter was asked by our Lord if he loved him, and attested his love, the Lord added at the end of each inquiry, “Feed my sheep,” or “feed my lambs,” [2] as if he were clearly saying: “There is only one adequate confirmation of whole-hearted love of God—laboring steadily for the needy in your midst, exercising continuing care of them.” EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL OF MARK 2.22. [3]

[1] Mt 22:37-39; Mk 12:30-31; Lk 10:27.

[2] Jn 21:15-17.

[3] Cetedoc 1367, 2.22.4; HOG 2:220**.

12:31b | No Other Commandment

NOTHING ELSE REQUIRED

CHRYSOSTOM: Christ looks for nothing else from you, in fact, Scripture says, than loving him with all your heart and carrying out his commands. I mean, obviously the person who loves him in the way he ought to love is also ready to carry out his commands. You see, when one is kindly disposed to another, he takes pains to do everything able to attract the loved one to love for him. So, we too, if we sincerely love the Lord, will manage to discharge his commands and do nothing capable of angering our loved one. This is the kingdom of heaven; this, the enjoyment of goods; this, blessings beyond number, being found worthy to love him sincerely and in the manner he deserves. Our love for him will be genuine if we give evidence of great love for our fellow servants as well as for him. [1] HOMILIES ON GENESIS, HOMILY 55.11. [2]

[1] 1 Jn 4:19-21.

[2] TLG 2062.112, 54.482.61-483.14; FC 87:112-13.

LOVING WHAT IS WORTHY OF LOVE

AUGUSTINE: This virtue consists in nothing else but in loving what is worthy of love; it is prudence to choose this, fortitude to be turned from it by no obstacles, temperance to be enticed by no allurements, justice to be diverted by no pride. Why do we choose what we exclusively love, except that we find nothing better? But this is God, and if we prefer or equate any creature with God, we know nothing about loving ourselves. We are made better by approaching closer to him than whom nothing is better. We go to him not by walking, but by loving. We will have him more present to us in proportion as we are able to purify the love by which we draw near to him, for he is not spread through or confined by corporeal space; he is everywhere present and everywhere wholly present, [1] and we go to him not by the motion of our feet but by our conduct. Conduct is not usually discerned by what one knows but by what one loves; good or bad love makes good or bad conduct. LETTER 155, TO MACEDONIUS. [2]

[1] Cf. Ps 139.

[2] Cetedoc 0262, 155.44.4.443.7; FC 20:314-15*.

12:32 | You Are Right, Teacher

ABOVE BURNT OFFERINGS

HILARY OF POITIERS: The answer of the scribe seems to accord with the words of the Lord, for he too acknowledges the inmost love of one God, and professes the love of one’s neighbor as real as the love of self, and places love of God and love of one’s neighbor above all the burnt offerings of sacrifices. ON THE TRINITY 9.24. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0433, 62A.9.24.24; NPNF 2 9:163*.

12:33 | More Than All Whole Burnt Offerings

MERCY IS BETTER

CALLISTUS: My brothers, shun not only the holding, but even the hearing, of the judgment that bans mercy. For mercy is better than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. [1] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF GAUL 6. [2]

[1] 1 Sam 15:22; Hos 6:6.

[2] PG 10:152; ANF 8:618*. In PG 10 the author is listed as Asterius Urbanus.

12:34 | Not Far from the Kingdom

STILL AT SOME DISTANCE

PSEUDO-JEROME: To say “you are not far from” suggests that the scribe was still at some distance from the reign of God. COMMENTARY ON MARK. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0632, 12.54.47; CG 1:431. To the extent that the giver of the command remained unrecognized, the scribe remained at a distance.

12:36 | The Lord Said to My Lord

LOVE ABOVE ALL

HILARY OF POITIERS: The scribe, therefore, is not far from the kingdom of God when he acknowledges the one God who is to be loved above all things. But he is admonished by his own confession in that he does not fully grasp the mystery of the law as being fulfilled in Christ. … The scribe only recognized him according to the flesh and the birth from Mary, who was descended from David, [1] rather than as David’s Lord. [2] ON THE TRINITY 9.26. [3]

[1] Cf. Mt 1:20; Lk 1:27.

[2] Cf. Ps 110:1; Mt 22:41-46; Mk 12:35-37; Lk 20:41-44.

[3] Cetedoc 0433, 62A.9.26.8; FC 25:346-47**. The scribe did not grasp the identity of the incarnate one who was giving the command.

12:37 | David Himself Calls Him Lord, So How Is He His Son?

LORD AS SON

GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS: What is lofty you are to apply to the Godhead, and to that nature in him which is superior to sufferings and incorporeal; but all that is lowly to the composite condition of him who for your sakes made himself of no reputation and was incarnate. ORATION 29, ON THE SON 18. [1]

[1] TLG 2022.009, 18.17-20; LCC 3:173.

SON OF DAVID AND LORD OF DAVID

AUGUSTINE: For that through which Mary had been made was not dying, but that which was made from Mary was dying. The eternity of [his] divinity was not dying, but the weakness of [his] flesh was dying. Therefore he made that reply, distinguishing in the faith of believers the one who came from the one through whom he came. For he, God and Lord of heaven and earth, came through a woman as his mother. In regard to the fact that he was Lord of the world, Lord of heaven and earth, he was also, of course, Lord of Mary; and in regard to the fact that he was creator of the world, creator of heaven and earth, he was also the creator of Mary. But insofar as it was said, “made of a woman, made under the law,” [1] he was the son of Mary. He was the Lord of Mary, he was the son of Mary; he was the creator of Mary, he was created from Mary. Do not be amazed that he is both son and Lord. For as he was [the son] of Mary, so, also, he was said to be the son of David; indeed the son of David precisely because the son of Mary. Hear the apostle speaking clearly: “who was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh.” [2] Hear that he was also the Lord of David; and let David himself say this: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand.’” [3] And Jesus himself proposed this to the Jews, and by it refuted them. [4] Therefore just as he was both the son and the Lord of David, the son of David according to the flesh, the Lord of David according to [his] divinity, so he was the son of Mary according to the flesh and the Lord of Mary according to [his] majesty. Because, therefore, she was not the mother of [his] divinity and what she sought would be a miracle through [his] divinity, he answered her, “What is it to me and to you, woman?” [5] But that you may not think that I am denying you as my mother, “My hour has not yet come.” [6] For there shall I acknowledge you when the weakness of which you are the mother has begun to hang on the cross. TRACTATE ON JOHN 8.9. [7]

[1] Gal 4:4.

[2] Rom 1:3.

[3] Ps 110:1.

[4] Cf. Mt 22:41-46; Mk 12:35-37; Lk 20:41-44.

[5] Jn 2:4.

[6] Jn 2:4.

[7] Cetedoc 0278, 8.9.22; FC 78:189-90.

INSTRUCTION ON HIS AUTHORITY

AUGUSTINE: He spoke in the hearing of those whom he wished profitably to instruct on his authority, and to turn away from the teaching of the scribes, whose knowledge of Christ amounted then only to this, that he was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. They did not understand that he was God, and on that ground also the Lord even of David. HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 2.74. [1]

[1] HE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL | MARK 1:1-5

12:38 | Beware of the Scribes, Who Devour Widows

WHY BEWARE?

HEGEMONIUS: The Pharisees looked to the “tithing of anise and cummin, and left undone the weightier matters of the law.” [1] While devoting great care to the things which were external, they overlooked those which bore upon salvation of the soul. For they also paid much attention to “greetings in the marketplace,” [2] and to the “uppermost seats at feasts.” [3] To them the Lord Jesus, knowing their perdition, made this declaration: that they attended to those things only which were external, and despised as strange those things which were within, and did not understand that he who made the body made also the soul. THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES 21. [4]

[1] Mt 23:23; Lk 11:42.

[2] Mt 23:6; Mk 12:38; Lk 20:46.

[3] Mt 23:6-7; Mk 12:38-39; Lk 20:46.

[4] PG 10:1462; ANF 6:194*; PG 10, 1429, sometimes attributed to Archelaus. The religious professionals were attentive to outward observances but not those inward things upon which salvation depends.