THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
26 OCTOBER 2014
Toward
the end of his earthly ministry, the opposition to Jesus begins to increase. The shadows of the coming darkness of his
passion and death surround Jesus and his followers. By the time Jesus enters Jerusalem for his
final climactic week, his enemies swirl around him like bullies in a school
playground. It is during this week that
Jesus goes to the Temple every day to face his bullies as they gang up on him
and fire questions to try to trip him up.
They ask, "Do we pay taxes to Caesar or not." "By whose authority do you act and
teach?" Whose wife will a woman be
at the resurrection if she has had seven husbands?" Jesus is artful in answering all of these
trick questions. In his answers, he does
not allow the bullies to push him around.
In standing his ground, he also teaches his followers valuable lessons.
This scholar
of the law tries to trap Jesus again.
The scholar knows that his fellow Pharisees have taken the Law of Moses
and listed 613 laws that must be followed.
They had made observance of the Law so complicated that ordinary
believers had to consult their wisdom in following the law, just as we have to
consult tax experts to navigate through our complicated tax system or skilled
mechanics to fix our cars loaded with so many complicated systems. The scholar of the law wants to put the final
nails into the hands and feet of Jesus.
Jesus
stands up to this bully by quoting Scripture.
He quotes a passage from the Book of Deuteronomy: "You shall love the Lord your God, with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." All faithful Jews pray that passage every
morning. Then Jesus quotes a passage
from the Book of Leviticus: "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself."
In quoting these two passages, Jesus is not teaching anything new. However he links love of God and love of
neighbor in such a radical way that they can never be separated. We cannot love God without loving our
neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without loving God.
At one
level, these two commandments are very simple. We do not need to consult experts to
understand them. At another level, they
challenge us to love in a way that goes well beyond the feelings we usually
associate with the word "love."
At the end of this climactic week, Jesus will give a vivid example of
what the love of God and neighbor will look like. As the Incarnate Word of God, he will give
his entire life on the cross for everyone, friend and foe alike. He will demonstrate in action what he had
been teaching in words. By his
sacrificial death, he will broaden the understanding of "neighbor"
well beyond the bonds of national or family kinship. Everyone is a neighbor, and the love of Jesus
extends to all.
Today at
the 8:45 and 10:30 Masses, we welcome those who have never been baptized as
Catechumens. We also accept others who
have been baptized in another Christian denomination as Candidates for Full
Communion. These people have joined us
at Mass for some time. They have been
gathering on Tuesday nights to pray with us, to study the teachings of the
Church, and to share with each other their journeys of faith. As they take this step in faith today, they
are committing themselves to continued formation in the faith. We will do our best to teach them what it
means to be Catholic as we prepare them for the Sacraments of Initiation at
Easter.
Today, the
Lord teaches us the foundation of everything we are teaching Catechumens and
Candidates. God has loved us in some
incredible ways. We return that love to
others. We still need specific
commandments that guide us in loving God and neighbor, especially those
neighbors who are most vulnerable. That
is why the Book of Exodus commands care of aliens, widows, and orphans, the
most vulnerable in that society. All
commandments flesh out the ultimate command:
love God with our entire being and our neighbors as we love ourselves.
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