Sunday 29th October 2023 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Exodus 22:20-26/ Psalm 17(18)/ 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10/ Matthew 22:34-40

We are witnessing horrendous conflicts in the world. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are the cause of great suffering to the many having to live their lives in these regions. It seems that humanity never learns from history. If it did the rush to armed conflict would not occur or at least there would be greater efforts to avoid the destructive use of the sophisticated weapons that support a multi-billion pound industry based in many countries including Great Britain and the USA. There is a principal found in most religions, including Christianity, that you should treat others as you would want them to treat you. A good guide that if followed, should lead to a happy existence between individuals, families, organisations, and the whole world. This principal has been named by philosophers as The Golden Rule.

Although the gospel passage for today is short it packs a big punch. Jesus is never slow to be challenging and we do well to listen carefully to what he says and behave accordingly. To begin with we hear of the Pharisees joining together with the Sadducees to ‘disconcert’ Jesus. What was this joining together, who were these two groups, and why did they wish to disconcert Jesus?

As in almost all religions, including Judaism and Christianity, human nature makes itself felt and the hope of unity can be dashed. The Pharisees and Sadducees were different sects within the Jewish community. They had differing interpretations of their faith and the many laws that had sprung up down the ages. They did not see eye to eye on many aspects of what it was to be a Jew, but they were united in seeing Jesus as an upstart itinerant preacher who posed a threat to their ways of living. Putting aside their differences for a while they joined together to challenge Jesus and the message he was spreading amongst their people. Notice how the one chosen to question Jesus called him ‘master’. This was a sarcastic approach because neither of these groups would have considered Jesus to be their master.

The question with which his challengers sought to disconcert Jesus concerned not simply the ten commandments that we are familiar with but the 613 commandments that governed every aspect of Jewish life and religious practice. They were possibly hoping that by picking out one of the rules as the greatest they could trap Jesus into ignoring others as unimportant. The plot did not work and if anything backfired onto both groups disconcerting them rather than Jesus. The answer Jesus gave was, ‘You must 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 resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

This answer superseded the question by giving two commandments which not only covered all the rules and regulations they had but also bridged the divisions of the two divergent Jewish groups. In trying to disconcert Jesus the Pharisees and Sadducees succeeding in encouraging Jesus to highlight their own divisions and failures in leadership. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule of Christianity, a rule that far surpasses the basic principal of simply treating others as you would wish them to treat you.

As in all scripture God talks not only to the people it was first written for but for people down the ages and, importantly, to us. What meaning does this passage have for us today? When considering the Word of God, we need to look at it prayerfully considering each word and phrase to allow it to speak to us where we are. The message can be different for various people and can even be different at various times in our lives. Some of the important points from the gospel today can be picked out in general terms but others will only speak to us individually.

Although used sarcastically by the questioner the term ‘master’ in addressing Jesus is quite correct. Jesus is indeed master of all things having been made so by God the Father. Jesus has sovereignty over the Kingdom of God and is indeed the one and only master. For that reason he is the only one qualified to point out to us what the greatest two commandments are. In answering the question Jesus uses the word ‘must’ which leaves no margin for error. It is a commandment directly from his lips. Firstly, to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. In effect with all our being. Not in a limited or divided way but in a total and complete way leaving nothing over for any selfish purpose of our own. Secondly, we are commanded, we must, love our neighbour as ourselves. Who is our neighbour? Not just those we choose to be close to, but all people created by God. People of whatever background, behaviour, faith or standing. This is a tall order for us when there seem to be so many people around who are easy to dislike or even despise. These might be people engaged in out and out war with us, but we are still commanded to love them.

What of the word love? This is not a weak and feeble love but an all-consuming sacrificial love. The love we see displayed by Jesus hanging on the cross. His was a total and unconditional love. He gave his life under suffering and torture being crucified as a despised criminal for each and everyone of us. Even crying out as he died, ‘Forgive them for they know not what they do’. This is the love we are commanded to show for God and for our neighbour. By fulfilling these two commands we will fulfil all the other commandments as well. As Jesus said, ‘On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

We know that it will be challenging, if not impossible, for us in our weakened fallen humanity to love God and love neighbour in the way Jesus commands that we must. That is not a reason to give up trying. We must endeavour to use our whole being, heart, soul, and mind, to firstly love God and then to love each other especially our neighbours who might be the most challenging to show love towards. Many of these neighbours may despise the love we show for them, but this is exactly how many react to the love Jesus showed for them on the cross. As St Paul tells the Thessalonians, ‘Never grow tired of doing what is right’.

God Bless, Brendan.