Sunday Gospel Reflection
"You shall love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself"

Introduction:

Love of God, Love of Neighbor
Have you ever had the overwhelming sense you were loved? How do you know you are loved?

"Love makes the world go 'round." In spite of the cynics from the board room to the court room to the news room, love does motivate people. Marriage and child bearing, vocation and ministry, all stem from love's self-giving and sense of sacrifice. Love indeed makes the world go around. For without love, the world would be a place of despair.

In the gospel, Jesus spoke of love as the highest principle in the Jewish Law.
Love for God. And love for neighbor.

First Reading
Exodus 22:21-27

21 "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan.
23 If you do afflict them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
25 "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor, and you shall not exact interest from him.
26 If ever you take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down;
27 for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

5 for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit;
7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
9 For they themselves report concerning us what a welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God,
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Gospel Reading
Matthew 22:34-40

34 When the Pharisees heard Jesus won the argument, they went as a group to Jesus.
35 One of their experts on the Jewish Law tried to trick Jesus into saying something wrong.
36 "Teacher," the expert said, "What is the most important command in the Jewish Law?"
37 Jesus answered, "'Love God with all the feeling in your heart, with all the energy within you,' and with every thought in your mind.
38 This is the most important command.
39 The next in importance is just like it. 'Love everyone like you love yourself.'"
40 "The entire Bible depends on these two commands," Jesus concluded.

Meditation/Bible Study

In order to trap Jesus, the Pharisees propose a simple question that cut to heart of his biblical interpretation. What is the most important command in the Torah (or Jewish Law, the first five books of the Bible)? This single phrase was the starting point of Jesus religious and world view. Through that lense, they could understand his logic and draw lines to his conclusions. Then, they could attack him with other questions that could embarrass him. [22:34-35]

The question itself was a popular one. According to John Pilch in his book "The Cultural  World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle A' (Collegeville, MI, Liturgical Press, 1995, pp 154-155), Israelites, even the biblical authors, tried to reduce the Law into guiding precepts. Psalm 15 had eleven. Isaiah 33:15 had six. Micah 6:8 had three. And Amos 5:4 had one. From a starting point, one could weigh various commands as serious or not. [22:36]

Jesus answered the question with two commands: Deuteronomy 6:5 (the "Shema") and Leviticus 19:18. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 has defined the faith of the Jews for more than two millennium.

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart." (Revised Standard Version)

These verses stress the unity of God (monotheism) and the response of the believer: love for the Creator. Israel based its belief in one God upon freedom. Unlike their neighbors' fertility gods who were guided by seasonal forces of nature, Yahweh was so radically free, even nature could not control him. That freedom made him all-powerful, alive, and ultimately unique among the other notions of the divine. He showed himself almighty through events of his people's history. He freely chose to save a people. He freely chose to make a covenant with them.

The covenants God offered revealed not only his freedom. They showed his loving concern. To Abraham he offered land and descendants. Through his messenger, Moses, he offered a divine law and nationhood to the wandering Israelites. To King David, he offered a perpetual throne for his descendants. In every case, Abraham, the Israelites, or David could not offer anything in return. God bestowed the covenant as a free gift. And once, God made a covenant, he remained faithful to them in his own way.

What could one offer God in return for his free choice, his love, and his faithfulness?  He or she could mirror those qualities back to God. In other words, Israel and her kings could hold fast to the Law God offered. Believers could freely choose to "covenant" with the Lord and live out that choice.

Within the context of covenant, the word "love" took on a much fuller sense. God's love meant his concern for his people. Love for God meant a duty of fidelity to Yahweh. So, the focus of love lay more upon duty and action than emotion or romantic ideals. When God loved his people, he showed his power in events recorded in Scripture. When one loved God, he or she lived out the covenant delineated in the Torah.

As God loved his people, his people should love each other. If love for God meant  faithful adherence to his covenant, love for neighbor meant acts of charity. As the center of the Torah, Leviticus 19:18 made that point explicit. Leviticus 19 was called the Holiness Codes, for the name of God is invoked many more times in this chapter than in any other book in the Bible. At the very center of the commands  laced with the holy name, stood one simple command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." One rabbi remarked that the Holiness Codes of Leviticus 19 were the mountain top of the Torah. The command to love one's neighbor would be the peak of the top. Love of neighbor (i.e., fellow Israelites), then, was intricately interwoven into the love of God. For the Israelite, an act of charity was an act equal to that of worship. No wonder Jesus could state Leviticus 19:18 was like Deuteronomy 6:5! [22:37-39]

Indeed, when one acts charitably to those in need, one demonstrates love for God. Without charity, worship, scripture study, and prayer become hollow. And, the covenant loses it force. The Bible that recorded the faith life of God's people does hang on the precepts of love. [22:40]

Jesus' answer was conservative and orthodox by the standards of the Pharisees. Lifestyle drew the difference between Jesus and his opponents, however. The Pharisees discussed love as the key for interpretation. Jesus lived out that love. His concern for the poor, the outcast, and the sinner mirrored God's loving concern for his people. The example of Jesus must have stung his opponents deeply. Jesus lived out the Law about which the Pharisees only speculated.

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you.
  What inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you this week?

.  Love of neighbor extends beyond our family and friends to strangers, especially to the poor, the sick, and the sinner. Love of neighbor knows no national borders or class distinctions or barriers of any kind, because God knows no such impediments.
   ------How can you show God your love? Has the success of such efforts inspired you? Or, has the failure of such discouraged you? How has God's love for you helped you to act charitably toward others?

. Is it easier to love God than our neighbors? Meditate the teaching: "It is love of God first and love of man second".

. Contemplate the love that you have for God. How do we respond to God? Test your love for God by checking your tendency to respond to God's love - the way you want to do, or the way God wants you to do.

. Jesus teaches us a way to love our neighbor: "This is the truth I tell you - whatever you did it to one of these least brothers of mine, you did it for me" (Mt. 25:40).
  How would you be able to see Jesus in your neighbors, even in those that your would despise?

.  Share one experience you recently express your true love to your spouse, children, parents or siblings because of what he/she said/did that hurt your feelings.

To live His Word this week:

. Write down the ways you showed love for God and others this past week. Thank God for your efforts and give him the credit. Then, plan for this week. Pray for wisdom making out your list. And pray for patience when those opportunities for love surprise you.

. Ask for mass to pray for those who were your benefactors in the month of the souls.

For Youngsters:

.  Try to be a peacemaker at home, among your relatives or brothers and sisters

. Visit the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel for 1 minute after mass to pray for the relatives/friends who passed away.

Prayer

Lord, your love surpasses all. Flood my heart with your love and increase my faith and hope in your promises. Help me to give myself in generous service to others as you have so generously given yourself to me.