31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)

1st Reading                Deuteronomy 6: 2-6

Psalm                          18: 2-3a. 3bc-4. 47 and 51ab (R. 2)

R//: "I love you, Lord, my strength" 

2nd Reading             Hebrews 7: 23-28

Gospel                        Mark 12: 28b-34

MANAGE YOUR GIFTS WITH WISDOM TO ADVANCE THE KINGDOM 

Beloved, today, the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) is also the first Sunday of November (2024). We ask the Lord to keep us under the shadow of his wings and continue to shield us from the darts of our salvation's enemies. Traditionally, in the Catholic Church, November is dedicated to praying for the faithful departed, especially souls in Purgatory. This is inspired by the Commemoration of All Souls on November 2. Our belief in the resurrection will be strengthened if we pay particular attention to discerning the mind of the Church as inspired by Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, what the life hereafter holds for us. 

This focus, I believe, also holds a special place within our liturgical year which ends soon. The end of the liturgical year teaches us about the end of our lives.  The basic concern about what happens at the end of our lives is answered practically by the liturgical year. Simply, a new year begins. Therefore, at the end of our earthly lives, a new life begins. 

Let us turn now to the Word of God for his 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time and look at some interesting thoughts from it. 

The first reading is from Deuteronomy 6: 2-6. At the heart of this reading is the infamous "Shema", the classical Jewish creed as found in Deuteronomy 6:4. The "Shema" is recited by every Jew every morning and in the evening. Practically, it is a credal statement that is known by all Jews. If any Jew should forget something it will definitely not be the "Shema". It reads: "Listen, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. 6: 4). 

The reading opens with "If you Fear the Lord..." (v. 2). In Proverbs, we are told that "the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 1: 7). Wisdom is the ability to manage what you have been given. To have that capability, one needs to consult the "statutes and commandments" of God. Remember that "commandments" (Mitzvah) together with Seder (ritual meal commemorating the Exodus) and Torah (the Law which is the foundation of the covenant) form the content of the Covenant (Exod. 19-24). What Moses is asking the Israelites to do is to be faithful to the Covenant. In a narrower view, Moses is basically saying that Wisdom proceeds from the Word of God; how to manage God's gift in divine order is found in no other place than the Word of YHWH himself. This is very important because Israel is about to "enter and take possession of the Land" (Deut. 6:1). This is God's promised gift. Fearing the Lord is necessary to obtain the skill in the management of the land and how to live rightly in it. 

Remember that how Israel treats the Land reflects their discernment of the Law and this has implications. 

Beloved, note again that the command to "fear the Lord" which implies obtaining Wisdom, is generational. Thus, "you, your son, and your son's son" (Deut. 6: 2). Pay attention to the promise of the Land to Abram (Gen. 12:7; 15: 18-21; 17:8). For instance, Genesis 17:8 says, "I will give you and to your descendants after you the Land in which you are now residing as aliens, the whole land of Canaan". These Israelites in the first reading are about to enter the land. They are descendants of Abraham. Entering the land is promised. The generations must have the fear of God to manage the land they have been given. 

The effect of Fearing the Lord is "that your days may be prolonged" (v. 2). With deliberations on Land, we return to the Garden of Eden, the primal land gifted to man. The loss of that land was due to not heeding the command of the Lord. Therefore, the days of Adam and Eve ended in that land when they were driven away consequently. Contrary to this, paying attention to God's Word and deriving Wisdom from it to guard the Land, the gift to be given soon, will win for Israel what was lost. Prolonged days imply something of long days, extended days, advanced age, health, and well-being. In fact, this is the fullness of life in the present and the future.

Also, Moses says that when they fear the Lord and consequently obtain Wisdom by carefully doing according to the statutes and commandments, it will "Go well with them". The focus is on the word "Well". The Hebrew uses "Yatab". This relates to the word "tob" which means Good. Remember that in Genesis, God created and saw that what he created was Good (tob). Moreover, after creating man "God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good" (Gen. 1: 31). If "it will go well" with Israel, then the implication is that they are getting a blessing of restoration. Consciousness about God's Word wins for the believer a restoration to his original state. In fact, they were going into the Land. In the original land, the Garden of Eden also, things were said to be good. 

As if that is not all, they will "multiply greatly". This is stunning because it also takes us back to the account of creation in Genesis. In Genesis 1: 28, "God blessed them and God said: Be fruitful and MULTIPLY". The Hebrew word used for multiply is "Rabah". Surprisingly, that is the word used to denote "multiply" in the first reading. "Rabah" means to become great, much, or numerous. This is a blessing of abundance. 

Obtaining Wisdom from the Word of God wins the fullness of life, the blessed life. Additionally, there will be twofold prosperity in terms of abundance and restoration. 

Finally, the "Shema" mentions "Heart, Soul and Might". I would like us to look at the word "Might". Again, resorting to Hebrew, the word used for "Might" in the passage is "meod". That word means "much" or "abundance". This implies possession in whatever form, ranging from physical strength, economic power, political power, and even intellectual acumen. "Meod" includes material possessions, wealth, and your influence. In this perspective, we have the Land in focus. The gift of the Land, as their "meod" should aid Israel to love the Lord. The land is only a means to an end. 

That is the basic consideration in the Gospel passage (Mark 12: 28b-34). It is all about using one's being and one's possessions to advance the Kingdom of God. In Christian eschatology, the Kingdom of God is the New Land. However, to acquire that land, we need to put whatever "might" or "strength" that we have at the disposal of others. We are only custodians of God's gifts to us. A gift used for personal interests or not used at all for reasons of selfishness and self-centeredness puts one very far from the Kingdom of God.

On this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), remember that loving God with all one's being and possessions advances the Kingdom. Selfless use of gifts and resources brings us closer to God's promised land. To use those gifts selflessly, we need Wisdom from the Word of God because Wisdom enables us to manage God's gifts well according to his will and purpose. 

Pax et Bonum