Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mt. 22:36
A true story:
“Like many in America, last Christmas Nanette Garvey was struggling to keep up with her finances and provide for her family. A single mother of five, Nanette had recently lost her job and was feeling the financial pressure heighten. However, her spirit was quickly rejuvenated when she was given a make-over, followed by a job offer, all thanks to an organization called “Style Me Hired.” After Nanette’s make-over and job offer, she was then further surprised when she was asked to jump aboard a firetruck that was filled with presents for her children, an even happier ending to an otherwise amazing moment.
Being kind and loving to one another is what makes the world a better place to live in. Don’t let the depressing news cycle get you down. There are stories of love everywhere if you just stop and look out for them. If you can’t find any, start doing random acts of love yourself.”
Jesus agrees.
His favorite Scripture passage was that of the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus’ most beloved texts proclaimed a new world for the sick and the poor and the heartbroken.
But a significant problem existed during his time. All Jewish people were taught to follow the Mosaic Law. And the Law consisted of 613 commandments!!
No one could possibly fulfill all of them.
So, which was most important?
Amid the complex web of precepts and prohibitions and demands and expectations contained in the Mosaic Law, how could people find their way through such a dumbfounding maze of demands and obligations?
It was clearly impossible. As a result, the ordinary person felt lost and overwhelmed.
No wonder Jesus was asked “Which of the commandments was most important? Which is the one that gives the most meaning to all the others?”
In answer, Jesus didn’t have to think twice. He quickly spoke the words that Jewish men prayed at the beginning and end of every day:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
And then Jesus added something that no one had asked him or expected:
“A second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
For Jesus, these two cannot be separated. One cannot love God and turn away from one’s neighbor. One cannot love God and neglect the people who suffer. One cannot love God and leave out the heartaches and miseries of God’s daughters and sons.
Loving God is inseparable from loving our neighbor.
To be sure, for Jesus, the love of God holds absolute primacy, and nothing can replace it. It is the first commandment: seeking God’s will, entering God’s reign, trusting in God’s forgiveness.
But, Jesus also believes that you cannot claim a deep love for God if you’re not also giving a cup of water to the thirsty, if you’re not giving food to those who are dying of hunger, if you’re not giving clothes to those who need protection from the cold, if you’re not attending to the needs of the sick, the imprisoned, the traumatized. The love of God makes it impossible for us to become indifferent to other people’s suffering.
In fact, as one scholar puts it, “It is precisely in our love of neighbor that we show the truth of our love for God.”
Jesus’ call is clear and specific, “Accepting the ultimate importance of the reality of God means we are totally open to God’s call in the voice of human beings in need. In God’s kingdom, all human creatures, even the ones we find most contemptible, have a right to experience the love of others and to receive the help they need to live in dignity.”
In the end, then, God’s law, God’s commandments can be summed up in one word: love. The law of love. The law of grace and mercy and compassion.
613 is reduced to 2!
After all his preaching and teaching, after all his miracles, after all his suffering and rising, Jesus reveals to each of us what is the absolute center, the heart, and the core of his mission:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
And then Jesus adds a finishing touch:
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Ted Wolgamot, Psy.D.
NOTE:
A recent and urgent example of loving one’s neighbor:
“Stellar Science Solving Cancer and COVID-19
When the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) launched its latest grant program, we sought to empower scientists who are pursuing disruptive avenues of research. The CRI Lloyd J. Old STARS – Scientists Taking Risks – recognize opportunities that are both high-risk and high-reward potentially allowing for leaps forward in immunology and cures for cancer. They are the future leaders of the cancer immunotherapy field.
Unsurprisingly, during a global pandemic, our STARS have demonstrated their leadership capabilities with various contributions to combat COVID-19 in addition to their work on cancer in pursuit of a safer, healthier future.
Early in the pandemic, SARS-COV-2 antibody tests were developed and distributed rapidly. CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR, Alexander Marson, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, was part of a project involving 50 scientists who sought to verify that the antibody tests currently on the market can deliver accurate results. They found that many of the tests were flawed. While these faulty tests complicate public health plans for control of the spread of the virus, the data has helped guide us in the biomedical community and allowed officials to adapt and develop alternative strategies accordingly.”
God bless them for their diligent and urgent work of love!!
ART BY JIM MATARELLI
