The Greatest Commandment

Many people think that Jesus taught the famous Golden Rule. Actually, Jesus was quoting Moses. It came about when a Pharisaic Teacher of Torah challenged Jesus to identify the greatest commandment among the 613 laws. He was confident that he could start a debate. This Sunday, we read the Matthean version.
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)
And the story finishes here.
Comparing the first commandment with that quoted in the gospel of Mark, there are two differences.
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one;
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.' (Mark 12:29-30)
Firstly, Matthew was writing for Jewish Christians. It is puzzling that he did not quote the first part of Shema! Every Jew was supposed to recite this everyday. Mark was writing for Gentile Christians. Yet he did (Hear, O Israel...)! Why doesn't Matthew quote the Shema in full?
Secondly, Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, though he quoted the Septuagint. Mark added 'with all your strength' to adapt to the current Greek culture.
Though Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, he made a not so minor change in the text. Let's compare.
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου· (Matthew 22:37)
ἐν means "with".
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
ἐξ means "from".
Did Matthew translate it on his own or recite from memory? I am not able to decide.
As for the second greatest commandment, both versions are identical.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18)
Lastly, Mark which was the first gospel to be written, continues with the teacher of Torah rephrasing Jesus' answer and Jesus' telling him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Matthew chooses to stop after Jesus quoted the second commandment. It seems that Matthew did not approve of the Pharisees in general. Contrast this with Luke who develops the story into a higher level, leaving behind the immortal parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
So much for the Greek text and literary analysis. Now, let's turn to the homily of Fr. Martin.
Earlier in the day, he officiated at a matrimony ceremony. Therefore, loyalty became his main theme in his exposition on love. He observes that nowadays, when people talk about love, most of the time, they mean "like it" or "feel like it" instead. Obviously, this is unreliable. For Christians, their love cannot be based on feeling, mood or likeability because looks are deceptive and feelings are fleeting, not lasting.
Rather, when Christians love, it is more a response to God's love for us. God has taken the initiative to love us first. How do we repay God's love? Impossible. Therefore, we should love the needy in response to the great love God has shown us. The more grateful we are to God, who is love, the more we will love our neighbour, however offensive they may be to us. Jesus taught us to see him in the needy so as to ward off the feeling of offensiveness of lowering our "dignity".

My dear Advocate, I thank God for loving me first. This love supports me and makes me see my worth. Continue to support me so that I may be able to support others who are in greater needs. Amen.