Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading: Matthew 22:34-40
This weekend’s Gospel shows Jesus being tested once more. A scholar of the Law asks Him which commandment is the greatest. That was no idle question. The rabbis of Jesus’ day counted 613 commandments in the Torah, and they debated how to rank them, which were “heavy” and which were “light.” Any answer risked offending someone.
Jesus answers by reaching for two passages every faithful Jew knew by heart. The first is the Shema from Deuteronomy 6, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Devout Jews prayed it every morning and evening. The second comes from Leviticus 19, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus does not invent a new law. He shows that the whole Law and the Prophets hang on these two, like a door on its hinges.
We are faced with the question of how we demonstrate love of neighbor. Any strength we have to do good for our neighbors comes from God. Each day, do we reach out in love to help a lonely person, a disabled individual, a child who needs help with schoolwork, an elderly person who cannot get to the store on his own, or a person who needs a ride to a medical appointment? There are so many ways God may ask us to show love each day.
These commandments come from God and are not optional. Do we love God first in our lives, and do we put that love into practice?
Sister Diane Marie Corrado, CSFN
