Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40
In Loving God, we love our brothers and Sisters too.
1. A man of God sat down to pray; he put all his effort and concentration into his prayers. While praying, a house rat came and started nibbling at his toe. The man of God shoos it away, saying can’t you see that I am praying? I am trying to be at one with God. The house rat asked the man of God, how can you be one with God when you do not want to have a relationship with me? Today’s readings demand that we should love God first and then our neighbors next. In the first letter of St. John 4:20, we are told, “If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
2. In today’s gospel reading, we see the third confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. The first one was the question on taxation as recorded in Matthew’s gospel 22:15-22. The second confrontation was the question about the resurrection. (cf. Matt. 22:23-33). The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection from the dead. To them, Jesus said, “Have you not read what was said to you by God? I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Today, the Pharisees took their turn to confront Jesus on the question of which was the greatest commandment in the law. (cf. Matt. 22:34-40). They thought that they would again discredit Jesus using his own words in condemnation of the Law of Mosses. Why was this question tricky and, at the same time, trying to put Jesus in a bind?
3. The Pharisees were organized Jewish leaders devoted to the literal practice of the Jewish law, the ‘Torah’ in everyday life. They had cataloged and categorized a list of 613 commandments, from the Ten Commandments popularly known as the law of Mosses. All faithful Jews were bound to observe and keep these laws. The Pharisees had also divided the laws into those that were ‘Weighty’ and those that were ‘light.’ For example, “Thou shalt not commit murder” was one of the ‘big ten,’ written by the hand of God and given to Mosses on Mount Sinai. The Pharisees, therefore, asked Jesus to name which of the commandments was the real weighty one.
4. The reaction of Jesus was that the law was made for man and not man for the law. (Mark 2:27). Like the law of keeping, the Sabbath day was meant to be a blessing rather than a burden to man. He came to set at liberty those held in captivity (cf. Lk 4:18). And he invites all to “Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matt. 11:28-30). Christ was referring to the children of Israel who were held in captivity by the burden of keeping the law. They were more afraid of breaking the law than offending God.
5. Jesus’s answer to the Pharisees confounded and convicted them and won his admiration simultaneously. “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.” (Matt. 22:37-40). All the Scribe could say was, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One, and there is no other than he.’ And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:32-34).
6. Christ was able to answer in this way because he knew the Scriptures. He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, the Shema, which was the basic and essential creed of Judaism. Every service began with Shema, and every Jewish child was to memorize it. We must give total love and adoration to God. Our lives, our thoughts, our emotions, and our actions should be subjected to God’s absolute dominance over us. If our love for God does not direct our service, then our service is of no consequence to God. The second commandment that Jesus quoted came from Leviticus 19:18. Our love for God must be seen in our love for our brothers and sisters. We must love God first and others second, in that order. Our love for God can only be meaningful if we can show that love to one another. It is only when we love God first that man is loveable.
7. The first reading pointed out to the children that they should treat everyone with love and dignity because they were slaves in the land of Egypt. It was through the extraordinary grace and love of God that they were delivered from Egypt. In the same way that God heard their cry when they were in pain, God will listen to the cry of the poor and the powerless and come to their rescue. The more we love God, the better we should treat people around us. We cannot pretend to be in love with God when we cannot stand one another. Do we have the rosary in our hands, praying while we ignore the beggar by the roadside? Do we go to Mass every day and receive Holy Communion while we hate our brothers and sisters? Do we hold God tightly in our hearts and refuse to open our hands to the poor ones around us? Do we find it easy to explain why we should not help someone in need instead of just giving whatever we can to assist those not as blessed as we are? Why do we think we can be at one with God while we find it hard to be at one with those around us? Today’s readings remind us to remember our humble beginnings. The children of Israel were reminded, no less, to think of their humble beginning in Egypt in dealing with others. If we love God the more, we will love others the best. C.S. Lewis reminds us, “When I have learned to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” Let us pray that our love for God will be made manifest in our love for others, for in loving God that I cannot see, I will come to love those I see more than I love myself. And in loving God above all else and in loving others more than I love myself, I may find myself in all those I love, and God’s love will be made manifest in my life. Amen.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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