What's the Point?

So, what's the point of it all? It's a classic question that has echoed down the centuries. This Sunday's texts come from Mark 12:28-34 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Hanging out in the Temple, one of the scribes who was intrigued by Jesus, asked a genuine question: "Which commandment is the first of all?" Like ranking the greatest athlete's of all time or debating who was the greatest President, it was common to debate and rank the commandments, after all there were over 600 of them! But there is sincerity in his question. He, like us, want to know the point!
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Jesus sums up the Ten Commandments with loving relationships with God, neighbor and self. The point is to be in loving relationship. When we sin, we are essentially breaking those relationships. The scribe was so taken by what Jesus said that he even declares that these loving relationships are more important than burnt offerings an sacrifices. The Temple's institutional economy of obtaining forgiveness is surpassed by loving relationships! That's what God cares about. Getting the point means that we are are like the scribe, and "not far from the kingdom of God." What an invitation to grow closer with God! That's sort of the point!