Thursday of Week 9 in Ordinary Time
First Reading
2 Timothy 2:8–15
Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news.
So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.
Here is a saying that you can rely on:
If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.
If we disown him, then he will disown us.
We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful,
for he cannot disown his own self.
Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there is to be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening.
Do all you can to present yourself in front of God as a man who has come through his trials, and a man who has no cause to be ashamed of his life's work and has kept a straight course with the message of the truth.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 24(25):4–5,8–10,14
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
for you are God my saviour.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
In you I hope all day long.
The Lord is good and upright.
He shows the path to those who stray.
He guides the humble in the right path;
He teaches his way to the poor.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
His ways are faithfulness and love
for those who keep his covenant and law.
The Lord's friendship is for those who revere him;
to them he reveals his covenant.
Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Gospel
Mark 12:28–34
One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him,
‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’
Jesus replied,
‘This is the first:
Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one 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 neighbour 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 neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust 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 any more.
Reflection
Today's readings bring together two inseparable themes: faithfulness and love.
Saint Paul writes while enduring suffering for the Gospel. Yet there is no bitterness in his words. Instead, there is remarkable confidence.
"Jesus Christ risen from the dead."
This remains the centre of everything.
Paul's hardships do not diminish the Gospel because the Gospel is founded upon the risen Christ. Human chains cannot imprison divine truth.
The passage contains one of the most powerful early Christian hymns:
"If we have died with him, then we shall live with him."
These words echo the reality of Baptism. Through Baptism we die and rise with Christ (CCC 1214, 1265). The Christian life is participation in the Paschal Mystery itself.
Paul also reminds us that Christ remains faithful even when we struggle.
This does not excuse unfaithfulness, but it reveals God's unchanging character. His mercy continually invites us back to Him.
The Gospel then reveals the heart of all Christian morality.
A scribe asks Jesus which commandment is greatest.
Jesus does not provide a long list.
He gives two commands that cannot be separated:
Love God.
Love neighbour.
Everything else flows from these.
The Catechism teaches that the entire Law reaches its fullness in the double commandment of love (CCC 2055).
Love of God without love of neighbour becomes empty religion.
Love of neighbour without love of God loses its deepest foundation.
The saints understood this well.
Their holiness was not measured primarily by extraordinary achievements but by extraordinary love.
The Kingdom of God grows wherever God is loved above all things and neighbour is treated with dignity, compassion, and mercy.
When Jesus tells the scribe, "You are not far from the kingdom of God," He reveals that understanding love is the doorway to discipleship.
Yet understanding alone is not enough.
Love must become action.
Today is an opportunity to ask:
How am I loving God with my whole heart?
How am I loving the people God has placed before me?
The answer to those questions reveals how near we are to the Kingdom.
One line to carry
Lord, teach me to love with my whole heart and to remain faithful in all things.
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