Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time — October 25, 2026

Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook and Instagram.

Click here for the readings.

In last Sunday’s Gospel, the Pharisees and Herodians attempted to trap Jesus with a question: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

Jesus gave his brief and now-famous answer: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

This week, the Pharisees—never ones to give up—test Jesus with another question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”

The religious scholars of Jesus’ time identified more than 600 commandments in Sacred Scripture. Which was the greatest and most important? That question was a constant source of discussion and sometimes heated debate.

The Pharisees wanted to draw Jesus into the controversy. Perhaps they hoped that he would become trapped in the details and lost in a black hole of endless argument.

But Jesus rises above the debate and summarizes the entire law of God:

“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 we have it.

Whenever we become embroiled in bitter arguments over the smaller things in life, we should step back and remember what life is truly about: loving the God who created us and caring for everyone else whom God has made—our neighbors.

Our first reading from the Book of Exodus reminds us that God gives special attention to those most in need: the stranger living among us, widows and orphans, and the poor. God asks us to make them our neighbors too.

May our love for God inspire us to love one another—and to give special care to those who need us most.

Have a blessed week, everyone.