Sunday: 30 TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Date: October 24, 1999 Year: A The readings: [Exo. 22:21-7; 1 Thess. 1:5b-10; Mt. 22:34-40] The message: WALKING IN THE LOVE OF GOD. Prepared by: CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY Total words: 1444 |
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Good morning to all, the seniors, those of middle age, the young adults and the children! Today, reflecting on the readings that we have just heard, I am going to preach on the subject of walking in the love of God.
The First Reading that we have just heard from the Book of Exodus speaks of the loving relationship that the Israelites men, who in those days were the authority over the families, should have towards those who are under-privileged. The under-privileged were the aliens, those who were forced to leave their homes because of circumstances such as war, plague or famine.
To remind the Israelites that they were once aliens in Egypt, their Laws required that they be warm and helpful to those who were unfortunate as they were once unfortunate. This reminder is found throughout the Old Testament. [Lev. 19:33-34; Deut. 1:16, 10:17-9, 14:28-9, 16:11-4; Jer. 7:6]
As we heard during the reading, the Israelites men were reminded of their loving obligation to take care of the needs of the widows and orphans. God desires that their needs be taken care of by those who are more fortunate. The Israelites were reminded that if the widows and orphans were neglected or abused and their cries reach out to Heaven, God would hear their cries and His anger would punish the aggressors. Their families would suffer the same consequences, their wives becoming widows, their children becoming orphans.
As we see today in the countries that are torn by war, many men die during these battles, leaving their families without a husband and father. God expects us to help the widows and orphans who are victims of war, sharing with them the wealth that we have to make their lives more comfortable.
The First Reading continues with the issue of making loans to others. Based on what is said in Leviticus 25:35 and Deuteronomy 23:20-1, this is understood to refer to loans made to one's own people. When a loan was made to one's countrymen, no interest was to be expected in return. But, when a loan was given to a foreigner, interest could be charged. This way, the nation made its wealth from the interest that came from outside the nation.
The people were reminded that if they abused this Law and the victims of this abuse cried out to God in prayer, He would hear their cries and He would no longer answer the prayers of those who abuse the Law. They would be denied the blessings that they had received in the past.
Today, this law would be similar to a brother, a sister, a parent, a child or a relative asking for a loan. In love, the loan should be given with joy without asking anything in return. Spiritually speaking, this Law goes beyond the biological family. It would apply to the spiritual family that we belong to, the Body of Christ. It would mean that when another Christian is in need, we should joyfully help him out without asking any interest in return. In love, we should give from our hearts.
In the Second Reading, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of his living example among them for their sake so they may grow in Christ. Paul's example is also the Lord's example. ("Be imitators of me as I am of Christ." [1 Cor. 11:1]) To fully live one's Christian life, it is necessary to "become imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." [Eph. 5:1-2] The examples of St. Paul and many other Christians shined in the love of Christ so others may know the way of Christ. [1 Thess. 2:14; 2 Thess. 3:7-9]
Paul acknowledged that through persecution, the Thessalonians persisted in their living faith, receiving the word of God with joy that was inspired by the Holy Spirit so they could become living models to others who heard about them in Macedonia and Achaia where Paul was residing when such news arrived. Joy in the faith during persecution is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and true imitation of Christ. [2 Cor. 4:10; 1 Pet. 2:21; Phil. 3:10] Here, we also perceive how salvation comes through suffering. [Mt. 24:9-25]
As was the custom in those days when addressing the Church in writing, Paul emphasized how the people had abandoned their idols to serve the true living God. The word idol in this case means the false gods who do not exist [1 Cor. 8:4-5], their worship being related to demons. [1 Cor. 10:20] True conversion in the living faith means to completely depart from the worship of idols in order to give oneself fully in the service of God. In a true conversion, the Christian truly lives the love of God and is the Christian that he claims to be.
While many claim to this day to be true Christians, are they? Are they living their faith in Christ by imitating the example of Christ or St. Paul? Do they have a living FAITH or a living FATE? Would Christ spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on Casinos, Bingo, gambling, VLT's, liquor, drugs, accumulating unnecessary wealth, etc...? At the same time, drowning in their wealth, when giving tithe on Sunday, they give such a small portion of their income that it is 1% of 1% of 1%. What is $ 5.00 a week when the family income is two to four thousands dollars per month. Is such meagre offering sufficient to support the Church, its utilities, the small salary of its minister, the foreign missionary work of the Diocese, the Church contributions to foreign lands that are torn by war, etc... What St. Paul is telling us is that he did not find or hear that the Thessalonians were obsessed with the idols of this world, its wealth and pleasures, as many are doing in the world today.
Paul continues by saying that it is by living one's faith in Christ that we are rescued from the justice of God that will befall the unrepentant sinners. We do not know when this justice will come... it could be present or future. But we must always be ready, in harmony with God, not risking being the object of His wrath.
In today's Gospel, Jesus is asked by the Pharisees what is the greatest Commandment. This question was reasonable since like today, the Law of those days contained 613 different Commandments. 248 of them were favourable while 365 were things that should not be done. And, when considering these different Commandments, they all had degrees of excellence or sinfulness. This is no different than the Laws of today, theft under $2,000.00 or over $2,000.00, one crime being more serious than the other.
Jesus answered by saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, this is the first and most important Commandment. It summarizes the first four of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. [Exo. 20:1-11] Placing God first in one's life means walking in faith and in the love of God.
The second greatest Commandment is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." This Commandment summarizes the last six of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. [Exo. 2-:12-17] The second Commandment means that if we have the love of God within us, it should shine towards others. Love is meant to be shared, not to be selfishly kept to oneself.
Then Jesus said that on those two Commandments (Laws) hangs the Law and the Prophets. That means that in those two Commandments are found the entire revelation of the Old Testament. To have the love of God as Christ enjoyed it, our acts of love should be towards God first and then our neighbours. Our neighbours includes everyone, our families and our friends. Our love for God must be greater than the love we have for our parents, our brothers and sisters, our spouse and even our children.
And the love that we have for our parents, our brothers and sisters, our spouse and our children should be equal to the love we have for everyone else because we are all one large Christian family through Jesus in the Body of Christ, the Holy Catholic Church. If we are to discriminate towards one person within the Body of Christ, then we do not have the love of God in us.
My brothers and sisters, I ask that you reflect on these words this week. If your heart identifies areas of weaknesses that need to be corrected, pray to the Holy Spirit that He may come to you to sanctify you in Christ by the grace of the Heavenly Father so you may be transformed in the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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The readings...
[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]
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First Reading...
"The Lord said to Moses: 'Thus shall you say to the Israelites, these are the ordinances that you shall set before them. You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans. If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. If you take your neighbour's cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; for it may be your neighbour's only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbour cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate." [Exo. 22:21-7]
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Second Reading...
"You know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming." [1 Thess. 1:5b-10]
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Gospel Reading...
"When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 'Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?' Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hangs all the law and the prophets." [Mt. 22:34-40]
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