Eucharistic Gospel Reading for Sunday of Proper 25: Year A
“He 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 neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37 to 40)
I will address this Gospel reading from the end to the first part.
Jesus invites the Pharisees to answer the question of Who the Messiah is. Specifically, whose son is he? Knowing that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, he pushes the Pharisees to see that the Messiah cannot be the son of a mortal. The Messiah is the Son of God, and God only.
We are children of God by adoption through the Messiah and the only way we can truly love one another is to first love our adopted Parent, God. Once we learn to love God, we are equipped to love one another. Such love is demonstrated by the way we relate to one another.
There was a traveler who asked an old Rabbi, “Sir, could you explain the whole of the Torah while standing on one foot?” To which the Rabbi answered, “What you don’t like done to you, do not do to anyone else.” Our Christian Golden Rule is the flip side of the same coin. “Do onto others as you would have them do onto you, for this sums up all of the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)
In the Hebrew Testament there are six hundred and thirteen laws; many of which are outdated and not relevant in today’s societies. And we Christians have adopted the Ten Commandments as part of our own code of conduct. However, in today’s Eucharistic Gospel, we see where our Lord Jesus makes it easier for us with only two Commandments.
It is indeed easier to remember only two Commandments. Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself. Loving God must come first. Love God, and then we are better enabled to love others through the love we have for God.
It is also very important that we love ourselves also. It does us no good to love others as we love ourselves if in fact, we don’t love ourselves. God loves us. Therefore, we too must love ourselves. God finds us worthy of God’s love. So, we cannot, not love ourselves. After this, we stretch out to our neighbors, and all souls on earth are our neighbors. While it sounds impossible, nothing is impossible through God.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and to serve, and to teach others to love and to serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. Amen.
Let us pray: Proper 25; The Sunday closest to October 26.
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
