Each week, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click HERE for the readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In last Sunday’s Gospel reading the Pharisees and the Herodians attempted to trap Jesus. They asked the question, “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?” Jesus gave his pithy and well-known answer. “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” This week it is the Pharisees, not ones to give up, who further tested Jesus with a question about the law: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
In fact, the religious scholars of Jesus’ day were constantly debating this question. They had uncovered over 600 laws in their Sacred Scripture. The debate about the great and most important law was often a constant source of tension and heated debate.
The Pharisees wanted to draw Jesus into the debate. In this way, they thought, Jesus would become mired in controversy and become lost in the black hole of heated debate.
Jesus finds his way out of it.
He summarizes the entire law of God in this way:
"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."
And there you have it. When embroiled in bitter battle over the small things in life, get above it all and remember what life is all about. It is about worshipping God who made us, and taking care of everyone else God has made: our neighbors. And, if we look at our first reading from the Book of Exodus, we discover that God makes those in need our closest neighbors: foreigners looking for a home (the aliens among us), widows and orphans (those without someone to care for them), and the poor.
May our love of God inspire us to love one another — and give greatest priority to those most in need.
Have a blessed week everyone.