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| “Pope Pius X” Photographer and Date are UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22
Commentary on Ru 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22
The Old Testament readings continue to trace God’s relationship with the Hebrew people. We are given a selection from the Book of Ruth that occurred around the same time as Book of Judges (just concluded). These verses, from the beginning of the book, establish the geography of the story. The Bethlehem identified specifically (of Judah) distinguishes it from the Bethlehem of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15). The Bethlehem
The loyalty of Ruth is also established in this passage as Ruth commits to stay with her mother-in-law in spite of the hardships and the fact that she is of a different faith. She commits herself to the God of Isaac and Jacob (“…and your God my God.”)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
Commentary on Ps 146:5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10
Psalm 146 is a hymn of praise. The psalmist provides and litany of attributes showing how God provides salvation. This psalm is often quoted and the litany it contains is assigned also to the Messiah who comes, fulfilling the prophets and the Law. Used in that sense the psalm itself is prophetic establishing the divine relationship between Christ and the God of Isaac and Jacob.
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Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
Commentary on Mt 22:34-40
The story of Jesus delivering the Great Commandment is the fourth of the “Controversy Stories” in St. Matthew’s Gospel (stories in which Jesus argues with the Jewish leadership). The question posed by the “Scholar of the Law” (probably a scribe; see also Luke 10:25-28) “…which commandment in the law is the greatest?” is asked in a rabbinical sense, meaning; which of the 613 distinct statutes was considered greatest. Within this body of law, 248 of these precepts were positive and 365 were prohibitions. In addition these precepts were further divided into “Light” and “Heavy”. This was a fairly typical type of exchange for a rabbinical debate.
In answering Jesus quotes two texts of the law that now form the foundation for a new morality in the Gospel. He fist quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This text forms part of the Shema, the Jewish profession of faith. This first quote would not be surprising. What makes this exchange novel and important is that Jesus adds the quote from Leviticus 19:18b “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This juxtaposition of quotes makes them equally “Heavy” and there is no parallel In Jewish literature.
CCC: Mat 22:23-34 575; Mat 22:34-36 581; Mat 22:36 2055; Mat 22:37-40 2055; Mat 22:37 2083; Mat 22:40 1824
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Reflection:
The Great Commandment, as Jesus tells us, provides a foundational morality by which we can evaluate all of our thoughts and actions. We are given two absolutes with which we can conduct our self-evaluation.
Let’s think of an example to see how we might apply this foundational belief: Let’s say, for instance, we are at work and we have just completed a difficult task. As is customary, the entire team gets together and celebrates that event. Your boss calls you up and congratulates you specifically for your hard work and you notice that one of your co-workers is obviously not thrilled with the attention you are getting (probably thinking they worked as hard as you did).
In this situation how do we live the Great Commandment? First, on the inside, we must hold our success up to God. It was only through his gifts that we accomplish anything worthwhile. If we do this sincerely, our attitude in success must necessarily be one of humility. After all, it was not through our effort alone that this task was accomplished and certainly not in our control to make it successful. In addition to being constantly thankful to God, our praise at times of joy is the hallmark of the Christian living the Great Commandment.
Next we must deal with our disgruntled co-worker. We are called to “love our neighbor as our self.” How do we do that in this situation? If we are quick, we might ask to share the accolade in the moment. Perhaps, in keeping with our humility before the Lord, we invite that person to join us “up front” or at least acknowledge, in sincerity, that what was done was a team effort, pointing out other members of the team. Praising our neighbor is on the same level of need as praising God. Jesus made it so with his pronouncement.
We see from this example how difficult and complex living the Great Commandment can be. We must constantly keep God (and Christ) in the fore as we go about our daily lives. When we encounter others, the Lord invites us to see in them the God-given spirit they have been given and pay them the same respect.
Love the Lord – that is so hard for our selfish hearts. It is so easy to forget Him completely and focus only on our own petty needs and problems. Today our prayer must be that we find in our hearts the love of God and are able to live that love, along with love of neighbor, well and fully.
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