Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
Many times, when a scribe or learned person asked Jesus a question, it was to trap him. This time, however, the scribe seems genuinely interested, Jewish people of that day often discussed the Scriptures, seeking to find the most essential points of the law. Jesus joined in the discussion.
He was not the first to put love of God and love of neighbor together. The Torah, the first five books of Moses, for instance, has these two loves. The scribes and many other Jewish people of Jesus’ time also had put them together.
To put love of God and neighbor first is to say that unless we put God and neighbor first, we do not have the right dispositions to take part in public and ritual worship. The whole point of public and ritual worship is to acknowledge the supremacy of God in our lives and to show that by including our neighbors in our worship. As Jesus said in another passage, “be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift.”
Once again, when we are tempted to say, “This is easy; I have this gospel down pat,” Jesus turns the tables on us to say, “Do you really?”