Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 148
Reading 1
Thus
says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Reading 2
Brothers
and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When
the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"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.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
In Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians today, he mentioned that they,
“became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers…”
Paul did his best to exemplify the virtues and teachings of Jesus Christ. God created us out of love to love and be loved. When we are told to follow the example of Paul, we are actually being told to follow the example of Jesus and the instructions of both Him and God. God, being the perfect love, means that we too must love with abandon, while also loving ourselves. This might seem very challenging, especially when we find ourselves in places and situations beyond our control; circumstances where we would want to be somewhere else and talking to someone differently. But it is not always about what we want. It is more about what God wants for us and how we implement what He wants for us in our lives. There are two ways: God’s way and our way. When things go wrong in our lives or when we face fears, anxieties, and resentments, it is most like only when we are doing things the way we want to instead of listening to God. God’s vision for us and our lives does not lead to negative thoughts, feelings, or circumstances. These are things that occur when we resist God or ignore Him completely. Psalm 89 tells us,
“My kindness lasts forever; my faithfulness is as firmly established as the heavens.”
These are positive words that have the capacity to have a positive impact on our lives; if we let them. This is done by letting God in and not keeping Him away.
In the Gospel Reading today, Jesus spoke of the two greatest commandments from God. He also mentioned that the whole law and prophets relied on these two commandments and everything else flowed from them. These two commandments have the commonality of love. Without love they amount to nothing. In much the same way, if we do not love and open ourselves up to be loved, our efforts to be better men and women will amount to nothing. Jesus goes further than this, telling us to love our enemies,
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This will make you children of the heavenly father. For he causes his sun to rise on evil people as well as those who are good, and his rain falls on both the righteous and the wicked. If you love only those who love you, what reward will you receive?”
The point is clear: those who do not follow Jesus Christ still have the capacity to love. It is who they love and how they love, coupled with their conduct that differentiates us from them. As Christians, we have to separate ourselves from those who profess to be good people, yet refuse to adhere to the principles laid down before us through Sacred Scripture, the prophets, and ultimately Jesus Christ. There can be no preconditions to our love and kindness. In all people’s we are challenged to see the face of Jesus and react as so. Paul emphasized this to the Thessalonians, and it is also emphasized to us.
The definition of Reverence is the feelings of respect, awe, and shame, felt at the proper time. It is considered a “virtue,” which means a high moral standard. Showing respect means showing deference and honor. This is automatically expected if we are to love and be loved. They go hand in hand. The negative emotions that oppose reverence and love have to be expelled from our thoughts and actions. These do not come from God; thus they should be though of as evil and things that prevent us from living a life the way that God intended.
When we find ourselves having negative thoughts or feeling negative emotions, we should bring this to prayer and try to divert our thoughts and actions towards God. When negativism is present, it is an indication that we are drifting away from God and are in danger of hurting ourselves and those around us. These things have no place around us anymore. They all lead to negative actions, which further alienate us from God. Getting closer is God is where we fin joy. And this is only found with love.
As Jesus said in the Gospel of John:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
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