Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 26, 2014 Cycle A
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.E.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today’s Gospel, a scholar of the law asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. There are 613 commands of the Mosaic Law. Many discussions among the Pharisees were about how to distinguish between the major and minor precepts. The scholar’s question was very difficult. Once again, Jesus surprises us by his answer. He recalls the words of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength” (Dt 6: 4-5). Jesus also quotes the Book of Leviticus, which says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lv 19:18). The scholar of the law was impressed by Jesus’ answer and says: “You are right, Teacher” (Mk 12:32), and Jesus tells him: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34).

Jesus commands us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. God is everything and asks everything from us. He does not ask us to love him with just a portion of our heart, soul and mind. Rather, he asks for everything. We know that we are far from achieving that.

In the second reading, Saint Paul talks about how the Thessalonians converted from idolatry to true worship: “[…] you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven” (1 Thess 1:9–10). Like the Thessalonians, we also need to convert.

How is it possible to love God, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and strength? It is the same as asking how it is possible to be a saint.

Last Friday, I went to the inauguration of an exhibit about Saint John Paul II at the John Paul II National Shrine. While I was looking at the exhibition, I was thinking about where he could have found the strength to do such great things. However, his life was amazing not because he was a hero but because he was a saint. His strength came from above. With the saints, we can understand that holiness is not a matter of giving everything to God but letting God take everything: all our heart, soul and mind. Thus, holiness is a matter of letting God be God in us.

The strength of the saints does not come from themselves. Today’s Psalm says: “I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer” (Ps 18:1). The psalmist says that he finds the strength for his life in God. He uses the suggestive imagery of rock to describe his relationship with God. We all need stability in our lives. It is so important to find a stable point amidst the confusion that surrounds us. Everything is constantly changing and nothing seems permanent.

For a Christian, the rock is Jesus’ Cross. The Cross is the stable point that we need in our lives. Christ is the rock where we can find the stability and solidity that is missing in our lives. He is the strength that delivers us. When we truly love God with all our heart, soul and mind, we are able to experience liberation.

Jesus connects God’s love to the love of neighbor. For Jesus, it is not possible to love God without loving our neighbor as ourselves. Thus, the love of neighbor is the fruit of God’s love. To love God with the entirety of our being means to recognize him as the origin and destiny of each human being. As we love God, we find the infinite dignity of the human person. God’s love infuses us with a deep respect for others. It makes us look at the other not as an object but as a person. In the way that we treat each other, we have a thermometer to measure our relationship with God.

We really need to pray with the words of the Psalm: “I love you, O Lord, my strength and my rock.” We need to pray for these words to live in us. Let us love God with all our hearts, souls and minds, and let us love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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