October 25, 2026
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 148
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the
Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102526.cfm
Commentary on Exodus
22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40
“Love and do what you like” is a statement attributed to the
great St Augustine. He did not say “Do what you like”, rather he said, “Love,
and do what you like.” The word ‘love’ changes the meaning of the statement
completely. We have a similar theme in today’s Gospel. It touches on the very
heart of the Christian message and indeed of all human living.
In these weeks, we are at a stage in Matthew’s Gospel where
Jesus is being challenged by various leading groups among the Jews. Jesus had
just reduced a group of Sadducees to silence, much to the delight of their
rivals, the Pharisees (see Matt 22:23-33). Now it is some Pharisees who
approach him with their own question, a question much debated among themselves:
Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?
Unlike other encounters, there is not necessarily any malice
in their approach. As a Rabbi, influential with the crowds and known by many as
someone with a mind of his own, Jesus’ opinion was of great interest to them.
There were over 600 different laws, and much time was spent
in arguing over trivial details of observance. This question is about getting
to the very heart of the matter. Among so many laws, was there any one law
which touched the core of people’s relationship with God? Was there one law
which summed up what the other laws were trying to say?
One plus one equals one
Jesus often answered people’s questions with one of his own, but in this
case he gives an answer. And he cites not one law, but two. He first quotes the
book of Deuteronomy which says:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your might. (Deut 6:5)
Jesus says:
This is the greatest and first commandment.
Probably Jesus’ hearers would have had no problem agreeing
with that. He then goes on immediately to say:
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
For Jesus’ listeners, this commandment would have been seen
very much as a secondary requirement. And as we know, the word ‘neighbour’
could be taken in a highly restricted sense. The story of the Good Samaritan in
Luke’s Gospel indicates that Jesus had a very different understanding of who
our neighbour is, although that is not raised here.
Concern for people
God’s special concern for people, and not just for worship of Himself,
is already expressed in a telling sentence from today’s First Reading, taken
from the Book of Exodus. Compassion and sympathy are to be shown in particular
to the stranger, the widow, the orphan:
If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will
surely heed their cry…
Further, money lent to the poor should not require interest;
a garment taken as a pledge must be given back before sunset if that is all its
owner has to cover himself with during the cold night:
If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will
surely heed their cry…
Undoubtedly, many people would have felt little compunction
in not doing these things to people they regarded of no account provided they
themselves were fulfilling all their direct obligations of worship of God in
terms of prayer, fasting, alms-giving and other ritual observances in temple,
synagogue, and home. Jesus, echoing what the Old Testament already is saying,
affirms that religious observance is not enough.
Jesus was making a significant change in linking these two
commandments together as one and inseparable. From the rest of the New
Testament, it is clear that one cannot love God without loving one’s brothers
and sisters at the same time. Nor does one love others just for God’s sake, to
please God or observe a commandment. One is expected to go much further. One
does not go to God through others, but one seeks, finds and loves God in
others:
Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least
of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matt 25:40)
Jesus identifies himself with the hungry and thirsty, with
the naked, the sick and those in prison (irrespective of their crimes). Jesus
identifies himself with those in most need of love and compassion. He is also
to be loved in the leper (nowadays the victim of socially-transmitted diseases,
the alcoholic, the drug addict, the homeless and others who suffer), the
outcast—and even in the enemy who threatens me.
A way of life
Yet these ‘commands’ to love God and those around us are not really
‘commands’. Love is not love unless it is free and spontaneous. What Jesus
proposes are not just commands or rules, but a whole approach to life and to
our relationships with others.
There is only one ‘commandment’, consisting of two
inseparable parts. The key word is ‘love’, but there are really three loves
involved: love of God, love of others and love of self. Ultimately, love of
God, the source of all being and life, comes first. Then comes, as a natural
outcome, love for all those in whom God dwells and whom God creates. Because
they are the objects of his love, they must also be the objects of mine.
Lastly, there is the love of self. I also am worthy of being loved.
Turning things round
Strangely enough, to implement these loves effectively, we may have to
reverse the order to: love of self, leading to love others, leading finally to
love of God.
In a way, the most basic love is love of myself. Today’s
Gospel says:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On the one hand we might think this is an unnecessary
command. What people do not love themselves, think about themselves and worry
about their welfare? At the same time, we have been taught many times to not be
loving ourselves, to not be selfish and self-centred. And it seems that a great
many people do not really love themselves very much at all. Quite a number
actually hate themselves and a large number have a low level of self-esteem. They
do not like very much what they see in the mirror.
Many secretly dislike themselves and would dread people
getting to know them as they see themselves. Why do we spend so much money on
clothes, make-up, appearance and image? The cosmetics business is a huge
industry involving billions of dollars. Why do so many chase various status
symbols to show that they have ‘arrived’? The part of the city in which I live,
the model of my car, my clothes and accessories—all are carefully chosen to
enhance my image and make me look better than I feel I really am. So much of
advertising is directed to this inner fear.
Why are we afraid to let others know what we are really
like? Why are we so shy to stand up in front of a crowd or ask questions at a
meeting or make a speech? Why do people go around looking for status symbols
that will make them seem more important in society?
We know the obsession of many people for ‘famous brands’. A
story is told that a man had a suit made at a shop known for making inexpensive
suits. When he went to collect it, the tailor pulled open a drawer with all the
most famous labels. “Which one would you like?” he asked. So the man walks out
wearing a cheap suit, but with the prestigious label conspicuously sewn to the
cuff. Did he walk taller because of that? What about the phoney expensive-brand
watches they sell on sidewalks in some big cities?
Why do so many try to be one of the crowd? Why do so many
escape into alcohol and drugs? Why do so many, especially the young, even
destroy themselves by taking their own lives? In a world of plenty, of endless
means of entertainment and pleasure, why is the level of teenage suicides so
high? Ultimately, it is because so many people do not or cannot love
themselves—and sadly, they think that no one else really loves or could love
them either.
Loving others
If we have difficulty loving ourselves, it will be difficult to reach
out in love to others. We will be too busy worrying whether others are loving
us, or at least the facade we present to others. And indeed that is the case.
Individualism is rampant. Freedom means ‘doing one’s own thing’ and to hell
with everyone else, except for that small number around us who
enhance our self-esteem.
It even affects the way we often behave in church, having
very little sense of community. How many of the people around you—at church or
in your neighborhood—do you know? And what have you ever done for any of them?
And what have they ever done for you?
When I love myself, I accept myself totally as I
am—recognising both my good qualities and my deficiencies and making no effort
to hide them from others. I do not really mind what people think of me. That is
really their problem, not mine. And because of that, I have plenty of time to
think of them and their needs. Then I have the freedom to reach out and be
concerned with the well-being of others. In short, I can begin to love my
neighbour as I love myself and because I love myself.
Loving God
And then there is the question of loving God. Saying “I love you God” is
one of the easiest things in the world. But it is difficult to speak
realistically of loving God, if I have no real experience of what love is, or
of loving and being loved by people. Only then can I begin to see that God is
present in all truly loving experiences. It has been said, “wherever there is
love, there is God.” My whole life can be lived in a sea of love, given and
received.
It is then that the commandment of Jesus begins to be
realised. I begin to be aware that when I am being deeply loved by another person,
it is in fact also God’s love that I am experiencing. “Where there is love,
there is God”—all real love is a manifestation of God’s presence.
Most of the time, God shows his love for me through the
people that enter my life. He loves me when they love me—and I am loving him
when I love them. In the end, there are not three kinds of love, but only one.
This person—this me—with all my strengths and weaknesses,
this person with whom I have learnt to be perfectly comfortable, lives a life
of loving and being loved. At the centre of it all is the source of all
love—God.
Finally, we need to say that this love is not necessarily an
emotional and romantic love. It is a love, as the First Reading indicates,
which involves treating every single person with deep respect, with justice,
with compassion. It reaches out even to those who behave badly or wish to harm
me. It is a deep-down desire that wishes that every person experience what is
the very best for them. It is a way of relating to people that helps them also
to become more caring and loving—of themselves, of others, and of God. As Paul
tells the Thessalonians today:
…you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you
for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord…
That is the core of all evangelisation. It is not just a
question of ‘converting’ people and getting them to the baptismal font to
become Catholic. It is rather to gently lead them so that they find the God who
loves them and find God in loving those around them.
What I am to myself becomes what I am to others and vice
versa. And together we all go to God as he comes to us—in love.
https://sacredspace.com/commentary/oa301/
Sunday,
October 25, 2026
Thirtieth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the
Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to
Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to
discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and
death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them
the source of life and of resurrection. Create silence in us so that we may
listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in
people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we
too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of
Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as
source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of
Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Mt 22: 34-40
A
key to the reading:
In the Gospel of the 30th Sunday of
ordinary time, the Pharisees want to know what Jesus thinks is the greatest
commandment of the law. This theme was much discussed among the Jews of those
days. It was a regular debate. Today too, people wish to know what defines a
person as a good Christian. Some say that this consists in being baptized,
praying and going to Mass on Sunday. Others say it consists in practicing
justice and living out fraternity. Each has his or her opinion. According to
you, what is the most important thing in religion and in the life of the
Church? When reading this text try to pay close attention to the way Jesus
answers the question. Text:
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the
Sadducees they got together 35 and, to put Him to the test, one of them put a
further question, 36 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' 37
Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your might. 38 This is the greatest and the first
commandment. 39 The second resembles it: You must love your neighbor as
yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets
too.'
A Moment of Prayerful Silence
so
that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
Some Questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
•
What did you like most in this text or what
touched you most? Why?
•
Who were the Pharisees then? Who are the
Pharisees today?
•
How could the question asked of Jesus by the
Pharisees put Him to the test?
•
What is the relationship between the first and
the second commandment?
•
Why is it that the love of God and the love of
neighbor constitute a summary of the law and the prophets?
Go deeper into the Theme
The
context of this text as it appears in the Gospel of Matthew:
This is one of the many
discussions Jesus had with the religious authorities of that time. This time it
was with the Pharisees. First, the Pharisees had tried to discredit Jesus with
the people by spreading theories about Him saying that He was possessed by
devils with which He drove out Beelzebub (Mt 12: 24). Now, in Jerusalem, they
enter once more into a discussion with Jesus concerning the interpretation of
the law of God. A commentary on
the text:
•
Matthew 22: 34-36: A question put by the
Pharisees.
First, to put Jesus to the test, the Sadducees had asked
Him about belief in the resurrection and were firmly silenced by Jesus (Mt 22:
23-33). Now the Pharisees come to the fore. The Pharisees and Sadducees were
enemies, but they become friends in criticizing Jesus. The Pharisees come
together and one of them represents them by asking for a clarification:
“Master, which is the greatest commandment of the law?" In those days, the
Jews had a huge number of norms, customs, and laws, great and small, to
regulate the observance of the Ten Commandments. One point concerning two
commandments of the law of God was a matter of great discussion among the
Pharisees.
Some said, "All the laws, great or small, have equal
value because they all come from God. We cannot make distinctions in matters
concerning God." Others said, "Some laws are more important than
others and thus they deserve greater observance!" The Pharisees want to
know where Jesus stands in this debate.
•
Matthew 22: 37-40: Jesus’ reply.
Jesus replies by quoting some words from the Bible: You
must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with
all your might!" (cf. Dt 6: 4-5). In Jesus’ days, pious Jews recited this
phrase three times a day, morning, noon and night. It was a well-known prayer
among them, as the Our Father is for us today. And Jesus goes on quoting the
Old Testament: "This is the greatest and first commandment. The second
resembles it: You must love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19: 18). And
He concludes: "On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the
Prophets too.” In other words, this is the way to God and the neighbor. There
is no other. The greatest temptation of human beings is that of trying to
separate these two loves, because in this way the poverty of others would not
discomfort their consciences.
A
deepening:
•
Pharisees:
The word “Pharisees” means “separate” because their rigid
way of observing the Law of God separated them from others. Among themselves
they called each other companions because they formed a community whose ideal
was that of observing absolutely the norms and all the commandments of the Law
of God. The way of life of most of them was a witness to the people because
they lived by their labor and dedicated many hours every day to study and
meditation on the law of God. But there was something very negative: they
sought their safety not in God but in the rigorous observance of the Law of
God. They trusted more in what they did for God than in what God did for them.
They had lost the notion of gratuity, which is the source and fruit of love.
Before such a false attitude towards God, Jesus reacts firmly and insists on
the practice of love that makes the observance of the law, and of its true
meaning, relative. In an age of change and uncertainty, such as now, the same
temptation reappears: to seek safety before God, not in the goodness of God
towards us, but in the rigorous observance of the Law. If we succumb to such a
temptation, then we deserve the same censure from Jesus.
•
A
parallel between Mark and Matthew:
In the Gospel of Mark, it is a doctor of the law who asks
the question (Mk 12: 32-33). After listening to Jesus’ reply, the doctor agrees
with Him and draws the following conclusion: "Yes, to love God and
neighbor is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.” Or else, the
commandment of love is the most important among all the commandments concerned
with cult and sacrifices of the Temple and with external observances. This
statement already existed in the Old Testament from the time of the prophet
Hosea (Hos 6: 6; Ps 40: 6-8; Ps 51: 16-17). Today we would say that the
practice of love is more important than novenas, promises, fasts, prayers and
processions. Jesus approves of the conclusion reached by the doctor of the law
and says: "You are not far from the Kingdom!” The Kingdom of God consists
of this: acknowledging that the love of God is equal to the love of neighbor.
We cannot reach God without giving ourselves to the neighbor!
•
The
greatest commandment:
The greatest commandment and the first is this: "You must
love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might"
(Mk 12: 30; Mt 22: 37). As far as the people of God, throughout the centuries,
understood the meaning of this love did they become aware that the love of God
is real and true only if it is made concrete in the love of one’s neighbor.
That is why the second commandment resembles the first (Mt 22: 39; Mk 12:
31)." Anyone who says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, is a
liar" (1Jn 4: 20). "On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and
the Prophets also" (Mt 22: 40). Because of this identification of the two
loves, there has been an evolution in three phases:
1st Phase:
"neighbor" is the relative of the same race
The Old Testament already taught
that we must "love our neighbor as ourselves!" (Lev 19:18) Then the
word neighbor was synonymous with relative. They felt obliged to love all those
who were part of the same family, the same clan, the same people. As for
strangers, that is, those who did not belong to the Jewish people, the book of
Deuteronomy says, “From a foreigner you may exact payment, but you must remit
whatever claim you have on your brother (relative, neighbor)!" (Deut
15:3).
2nd Phase:
"neighbor" is the one I approach or who approaches me.
The concept of neighbor is
broadened. In Jesus’ time, there was a whole discussion as to “who is my
neighbor?” Some doctors of the law thought the concept of neighbor had to be
extended beyond the limits of race. Others would not hear of this. So a doctor
turns to Jesus and asks this vexed question: "Who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replies with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:2937), where the
neighbor is neither the relative nor the friend, but all those who approach us,
irrespective of religion, color, race, gender or language! You must love him!
3rd Phase: The
measure of our love for the “neighbor” is the love with which Jesus loves us.
Jesus had said to the doctor of
the law, "You are not far from the Kingdom!" (Mk 12:34). The doctor
was already close because in fact, the Kingdom consists in uniting the love of
God with the love of neighbor as the doctor had solemnly declared before Jesus
(Mk 12:33). But to enter the Kingdom he had to take one more step. In the Old
Testament, the criterion of love for neighbor was the following: "love
your neighbor as yourself." Jesus stretches the criterion further and
says, "This is My commandment: love one another, as I have loved you! A
man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends!"
(Jn 15:12-13). Now, in the New Testament, the criterion is: "Love your
neighbor as Jesus loved us!" Jesus interpreted the exact meaning of the
Word of God and showed us the way to a more just and fraternal way of life.
Psalm 62
In
God Alone There is Rest for My Soul
In God alone there is rest for my soul, from Him comes my
safety;
He alone is my rock, my safety, my
stronghold so that I stand unshaken. How much longer will you set on a victim,
all together, intent on murder, like a rampart already leaning over, a wall
already damaged?
Trickery is their only plan, deception
their only pleasure, with lies on their lips they pronounce a blessing, with a
curse in their hearts.
Rest in God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope.
He alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold, so that I
stand unwavering.
In God is my safety and my glory, the rock of my strength.
In God is my refuge; trust in God, you
people, at all times. Pour out your hearts to Him; God is a refuge for us.
Ordinary people are a mere puff of
wind, important people a delusion; set both on the scales together, and they
are lighter than a puff of wind.
Put no trust in extortion, no empty
hopes in robbery; however much wealth may multiply, do not set your heart on
it.
Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: Strength
belongs to God, to You, Lord, faithful love; and You repay all as their deeds
deserve.
Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has
enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit
enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has
revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also
practice the Word, You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the
Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
