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Readings for October 23, 2011
Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40
All the Scripture readings today focus on how we are to love God. The first reading from Exodus is an excerpt from a detailed listing of the 613 laws that Jews must follow as part of their covenant with God. It elaborates how one must show love to a person's neighbor. There is a special focus on those people who have the smallest voice in their community: the alien or non-Jew, the widows and orphans. There is a special admonition to treat poor neighbors kindly by not charging them interest when lending money and to make sure if you borrow from your neighbor to return it before sunset. This is because our God is a compassionate God.
In the Psalm, David thanks God for giving him a military victory. He states: "I love you, Lord, my strength." St. Paul thanks the Thessalonians for following his example of love. He states that throughout Greece the reputation of their faith in the one true God and the resurrected Jesus is well known, especially in light of the affliction that they have suffered.
In the Gospel reading Matthew continues describing how the Pharisees test Jesus. This time they ask, "Which is the greatest commandment?" They try to trick Jesus because they know there are 613 commandments listed in the Hebrew Scriptures. But Jesus passes the test: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Having a loving relationship with God and our neighbor is the essence of all laws. Jesus' answer was so perfect that no one dare test Him again.
Aren't these admonitions to love God and our neighbor particularly difficult to follow today with all the economic stresses we are facing individually, as a community, and as a nation? There are people here in Oak Park who are homeless, jobless, poor, and hungry. Food banks are facing great demands at the same time government funding is being cut and donations are down. The State of Illinois' budget crisis is forcing cuts in funding for social services and mental health services when the most vulnerable of our neighbors need the help the most. At the national level the debt crisis debate states that people can't afford the current tax system (Last week's Gospel discussed giving what is due both to God and to government). There is a push for smaller government which will necessitate cutting programs to the most vulnerable citizens. The challenge for us in today's readings is for us to answer the question, "How are we showing our love for God and for our neighbor?"
Prayer- O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. From the Prayer of St. Francis.
Gene Wesolowski is a parishioner, a social work and a graduate student at Catholic Theological Union.
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