Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]

CCC 2052-2074: The Ten Commandments interpreted through twofold love
CCC 2061-2063: Moral life a response to the Lord’s initiative of love

“Holy Trinity“
by Hendrick van Balen, 1620s

Readings for Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Exodus 22:20-26
 
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."
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Commentary on Ex 22:20-26
 
This passage is taken from what is called “The Book of the Covenant” (see Exodus 24:7). This part of the “book” contains social laws dealing specifically with interaction of the faithful with aliens (residents living in the same region but of Gentile status). While the general rule was that the Israelites were to remain separate (segregated) from these populations, the covenant law clearly states that there should be peaceful cohabitation, reminding them that they too were once aliens in Egypt. The covenant goes on to cover treatment of widows and orphans, and the need for compassion when conducting business within the community of faith.
 
CCC: Ex 22:20-22 1867
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
 
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.
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Commentary on Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
 
Psalm 18 is a song of thanksgiving for a military victory.  The psalmist, in these strophes, rejoices in God’s saving power.  The theme of the “rock” is a reference to the solid nature of the faith foundation. The strophes in this selection sound like a love song to God as David thanks the Lord for his inheritance.
 
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Reading II: 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
 
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.
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Commentary on 1 Thes 1:5c-10
 
Following his introduction, identifying himself and praising the faithful of Thessalonica, St. Paul reminds his flock of how they were before he came to them, and before they became believers (“a model for all the believers”). The apostle fairly rejoices over the success the lived Gospel has had, turning them away from idols to serve the one true God and his Son. This faith has spread as a result, not only of his teaching, but of their example as well.
 
CCC: 1 Thes 1:10 442
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Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
 
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."
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Commentary on Mt 22:34-40
 
The story of Jesus delivering the Great Commandment is the fourth of the “Controversy Stories” in St. Matthew’s Gospel (stories in which Jesus argues with the Jewish leadership). Jesus has just refuted those Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection (v. 23-33) and now is challenged by the Pharisees. The question posed by the “scholar of the law” (probably a scribe; see also Luke 10:25-28) “which commandment in the law is the greatest?” is asked in a rabbinical sense, meaning which of the 613 distinct statutes was considered greatest. Within this body of law, 248 of these precepts were positive and 365 were prohibitions. In addition, these precepts were further divided into “light” and “heavy.” This was a fairly typical exchange for a rabbinical debate.
 
“’Test him’: the text has πειοαξων, a word that may also be translated as ‘to tempt’ and ‘to submit to trial’. Matthew uses the term six times altogether from one end of his Gospel to the other (4:1,3; 16:1; 19:3; 22:18; 22:35), and two things are significant about this use. The first time the term appears the tempter is Satan himself, and this fact lends to every other occasion a satanic whiff; and secondly, the object of the tempting or testing in every case is Jesus himself.” [5]
 
In answering, Jesus quotes two texts of the law that now form the foundation for a new morality in the Gospel. He first quotes Deuteronomy6:5 “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This text forms part of the Shema, the Jewish profession of faith. This first quote would not be surprising. What makes this exchange novel and important is that Jesus adds the quote from Leviticus 19:18b “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This juxtaposition of quotes makes them equally “heavy” and there is no parallel In Jewish literature.
 
 
CCC: Mt 22:23-34 575; Mt 22:34-36 581; Mt 22:36 2055; Mt 22:37-40 2055; Mt 22:37 2083; Mt 22:40 1824
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Reflection:
 
The Great Commandment, as Jesus tells us, provides a foundational morality by which we can evaluate all our thoughts and actions.  We are given two absolutes by which to conduct our self-evaluation.
 
Let’s think of an example to see how we might apply this foundational belief.  Let’s say, for instance, we are at work, and we have just completed a difficult task.  As is customary, the entire team gets together and celebrates that event.  Your boss calls you up and congratulates you specifically for your hard work, and you notice that one of your co-workers is obviously not thrilled with the attention you are getting (probably thinking they worked as hard as you did).
 
In this situation how do we live the Great Commandment?  First, on the inside, we must hold our success up to God.  It was only through his gifts that we accomplish anything worthwhile.  If we do this sincerely, our attitude in success must necessarily be one of humility.  After all, it was not through our effort alone that this task was accomplished, and it was certainly not in our control to make it successful.  In addition to being constantly thankful to God, our praise at times of joy is the hallmark of the Christian living the Great Commandment.
 
Next, we must deal with our disgruntled co-worker.  We are called to “love our neighbor as our self." How do we do that in this situation?  If we are quick, we might ask to share the accolade in the moment.  Perhaps, in keeping with our humility before the Lord, we invite that person to join us “up front” or at least acknowledge, in sincerity, that what was done was a team effort, pointing out other members of the team.  Praising our neighbor is on the same level of need as praising God.  Jesus made it so with his pronouncement.
 
We see from this example how difficult and complex living the Great Commandment can be.  We must constantly keep God (and Christ) in the fore as we go about our daily lives.  When we encounter others, the Lord invites us to see in them the God-given spirit they possess and pay them the same respect. 
 
Love the Lord – that is so hard for our selfish hearts.  It is so easy to forget him completely and focus only on our own petty needs and problems.  Today our prayer must be that we find in our hearts the love of God and are able to live that love, along with love of neighbor, well and fully.
 
Pax

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Holy Trinity“ by Hendrick van Balen, 1620s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume III, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2012 p. 576.