How’s Your Love Life? – A Sermon On Mark 12:28-34

This is a beautiful and true reflection on what love is. I appreciate Michael Marsh for writing it.

The year my dad was in Viet Nam my mom, sister, and I lived in my mom and dad’s hometown. I was about nine or ten years old. Every few weeks I’d go to Alfie’s Barber Shop for a haircut. It was always the same routine. I’d climb up in the chair and Alfie would wrap a sheet around me. Then he’d spin the chair around so we were both looking into the mirror and he’d say, “How’s your love life these days?”

His question made me so uncomfortable. I would giggle, squirm, and get embarrassed. I wondered if he knew I had a crush on not just one but two girls in my class, Jackie Callaway and Kim Cochran. His question still makes me uncomfortable today, but for different reasons.

I wonder if Alfie’s question is the unspoken question running through today’s gospel (Mark 12:28-34).