Complexity Explained

In the Gospel reading from the Mass for today (Mark 12:28-34), Jesus demonstrates His great ability to synthesize complexity and distill Truth:

[28] And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” [29] Jesus answered, “The first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one;  [30] and 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.’ [31] The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” [32] And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; [33] and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” [34] And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any question.

What Jesus does is breathtaking, for He is offering the Truth about the vast complexity of the Scripture:

•  It is important to note that the Jewish people in the Old Testament had the 10 Commandments (Ex 20:2-17; Deut 5:6-21) and the 613 precepts of the Mosaic Law.  This is a bunch of complexity, that at times seemed to overwhelm the Jews; who can keep all the Law; how do you make calls between conflicting precepts when an apparent conflict comes up in the practical application.  
• Jesus, in an act of great authority and amazing intellectual ability, definitely speaks:  There are Two Great Commandments: To love God (from the Shema (Hebrew for ‘hear’ – Deut 6:4-5) and to love one’s neighbor (Lev 19:18).
• The Two Great Commandments are the pinacle of all the teachings of the Old Testament and on which the Old Testament rests.   A remarkable synthesis.
• Also remarkable, is that the idea of the Two Great Commandments are pre-figured in the two stone tables of teh Deaclogue (Ex 34:1).

Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Man, does what no man could do:  He synthesizes a vast amount of information and distills it into something that each can understand.

The Universe has complexity, but the Word, the Son of God, understands complexity in a way no human can.

Jesus is able to do this, for He with the Father and the Holy Spirit conceives and puts in place our complex universe.