Exodus 22:21-27 / Psalm 17:2 – 4,47,51 / 1Thes. 1:5c – 10 / Matthew 22:34 – 40

The first reading from the Book of Exodus speaks of the Israelites’ duties toward strangers, widows and orphans and the poor in general. These are the most vulnerable people in society. The stranger had no rights because he was a foreigner. The widow had no rights because she had no husband and the orphan because he had no father.

 So, the point here is that they had no one to fight their cause for them, so for these the law demanded love. Unless we are filled with this love for God and for our fellow brethren, we cannot truly live our lives wholeheartedly and properly as Christians. Love of neighbour embraces in a special way the vulnerable neighbour. According to the first reading, those who molest the vulnerable in any way will cause the Lord’s anger to flare.

In the Gospel, we hear of the encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees, who tried to test and trap the Lord with their question. The question appears to be about keeping the whole law. The Pharisees had heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees the common enemies of their belief or religion. It is worth mentioning that, the Pharisees were those who were particularly concerned about the details, rituals and practices of the Law and as one of the most influential groups and leaders among the Jewish community.

They thought and claimed to know the Law better than anyone else, and that they and their interpretation of the Law alone was correct and acceptable, worthy and good for the Lord and His people. So, they pride themselves on keeping all the commandments of the law, which they had divided into 613 precepts.

Unfortunately, this led to them opposing the Lord and His disciples throughout including the occasion highlighted today in the Gospel passage, when they tried to question and trap the Lord with the question regarding the Law.

As you will have noticed, Jesus gave more than he was asked for. He was asked for the greatest commandment, and he gave the greatest and the second greatest commandment. Thus, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your Soul, and with all your mind. And the second, “you must love your neighbour as yourself”. Jesus’ answer declared that what God wants from us above all else is love, so in linking the two commandments, Jesus wants to show us that this heartfelt, soulful and mindful love of God is inseparable from the love of neighbour,

Loving God with the totality of our heart, soul and mind, will inevitable express itself in loving our neighbour. The definition of the neighbour is the one whom you shall love as yourself includes the stranger, the widow, and orphan. If we truly love God, we will be caught up into God’s love of humanity, we will be empowered to love all those whom God loves, and in the way, God loves them.

Beloved, let each one of us ask ourselves today how seriously we take this law of fraternal charity and how faithfully we carry it out. Not all of us may be able to give material help to a neighbour in need but the poorest of us can spare a kind word, an encouraging word, for a neighbour weighed down with cares and troubles. Let us endeavour to pray for a neighbour who needs spiritual and temporal help. Let our lives as Christians be enriching in love and faith, and let us all be great examples, role models and inspirations for one another.

ROSARY PRAYER: GLORIOUS MYSTERIES