Tag: love your neighbor

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

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Mass Readings

Reading 1: Acts 14:21.27
Responsorial: Psalm 145:8-13
Reading 2: Revelation 21:1-5a
Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031322.cfm

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the summary of faith. It almost sounds too easy – it’s too simple! What does it mean to be a Christian? Jesus says we must, “love one another” (John 13:34a). Then Jesus says, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34b).

Why does Jesus qualify this new commandment? Because Jesus specifies a particular kind of love – the love of the cross. Jesus loves us so much that he totally gave himself for us – no strings attached. That’s a very peculiar kind of love that we call agape. Total self-gift. <1>

And as Jesus loves us, we are called to love others. So, before we go any further, we have to start with Jesus loving each and every one of us. We don’t start with, “Look at all we do! Look at how much I love,” like some badge of honor. We start by saying, “Look what love has done to me.” “Look at all the ways love has touched my life.”

I can tell you I am a very different person today than I was when I was first starting out in life because of the ways love has touched my life. <2> Don’t get me wrong, you might have problems in your life. Maybe your life isn’t going the way you hoped. Maybe you’ve experienced a series of unfortunate events. But rather than focusing on the negative, we need to from a place of love to reach out to others in love.

Who is the other we’re supposed to reach out to? Jesus tells us in the Gospel (Luke 10:25-37), that the other is our neighbor. Jesus says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. A scribe will ask Jesus, “And who is our neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) Jesus then tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Of course, that is one of the primary points of that parable is that everyone is our neighbor. <3> My neighbor might look or sound different than me. “Neighbor” is not limited by race, color, language, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Everyone is my neighbor.

Alright, everyone is my neighbor. But how do I show love for them? Jesus gives us that answer too in the Bible. This is very important, especially for all of you type A’s out there who love rubrics and metrics and KPIs.

In the Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus says that when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will separate the people like a shepherd separates the goat from the sheep. To those on his right he will say, “because you cared for me when I was hungry and thirsty; when I was naked and sick; imprisoned and homeless, you are blessed.” And those on his left he says, “because you did not do these things for me, you are condemned.”

Then both sides will be confused and say to Jesus, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, naked or sick, imprisoned or homeless?” Jesus will answer by saying, “whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me; and conversely, whatever you didn’t do for the least of these, you ignored me.”

Whew! Those are some KPIs! But they’re concrete – something actionable. Ok, so, we know who is the other, and we know what we are supposed to do. How do we do it? How do we show love for others?

Here’s one suggestion that the Church teaches us. It’s called the ART method of social justice. Social justice is a term we use to describe the practical dimension of living out love in the world. “ART” stands for act, reflect and transform. <4>

Let’s start with act. You see a homeless person on the street, so you give them a little money, or you give them a bottle of water. This time of year you might keep a little cooler in your car so you can give them a bottle of water. Or maybe you go to the store and buy some premade sandwiches and them in your cooler. You might say, “but what if they don’t really need help? What if they’re going to use the money to buy drugs or alcohol?” I don’t.

Jesus didn’t say, “Judge them.” Jesus said, “Love them.” The sainted Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” So, we love first – that’s act.

Next, after we’ve taken some action, then we reflect. We ask, “why is this person begging on the street? Why do people come to our country illegally? Why do people get into abusive relationships?” – or whatever the question is that God placed on your heart. We discuss these questions with our family and our friends. We’re trying to understand the root causes. To do that, we’ve got to move beyond the fluff, beyond the Twitterverse, and beyond social media and cable news. We need to try to identify the real root causes of the problem. How can we possibly fix anything if we don’t understand the root causes of the problem? So we reflect.

After we have reflected on the problem and hopefully come up with some possible solutions, then we transform. Let me give you an example.

Let’s say that in your neighborhood, there’s a road and people speed down that road all the time. And someone almost got hurt the other day. So maybe after going through this process, you seek to transform and you advocate on behalf of your neighbors to City Hall and you say, why can’t we put a stop sign here, or maybe some speed bumps to slow traffic down? That’s an example of transform. Right? As we start to think about potential solutions for whatever problem God laid on our hearts, maybe we get involved in our community, we vote. We get involved in a ministry or a nonprofit organization that tackles one piece of whatever’s on my heart. Or maybe I start a new ministry or a new nonprofit, to work on that idea. Whatever it is, we act, we reflect and we seek to transform.

Is that easy? No. Trying to make a difference in the world is not easy. The reality is, that we might get discouraged. We might experience rude awakenings and disappointments along the way.

There will also be distractions. The world wants us to focus on ourselves. Look, in this Snapchat kind of world (is that even still a thing? Snapchat?), in this Snapchat kind of world, it’s easy to on me. It fills the internet with selfies. What’s a selfie? It’s all about me. We focus on me.

How do we overcome distractions and disappointments?

We come home. We come to mass. Because Jesus gave us this church to support us to nurture us to help us and he infused the church for sacraments, to heal us, and to nourish us.

So, when we come to church, and we see other people we remember, it’s not all about me. It’s about other people. When we participate in the sacraments that go into confession and that little cubicle back there. We allow Jesus to heal us to embrace us to lift us up. When we come to Mass, we allow Jesus to feed us at least twice: Once in the Bible, and once in the Eucharist. We are empowered by the Mass to go back out into the world.

Do we have to do that alone? No! In our first reading from Acts, Paul and Barnabas were sent out as a pair. All the disciples were sent out in pairs. So, we don’t do it by ourselves. We open ourselves up and allow Jesus to walk with us. Allow the church to walk with us. Allow our friends and families to walk with us so that we can go out and love other people through the art of social justice.

Can you imagine what kind of world this would be? If every Catholic – if every Christian reached out all the time in love? Man, we could set this world on fire!

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. (Fr. Peter Scholtes, 1960s)

Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, there’s one thing I asked you to do this week.

First, remember God loves you. God loves you. How can you use ART to transform the world? God loves you, how can you use art to love other people?

I think doing our homework will help us be the intentional loving disciples that Christ Jesus calls us to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Then let’s go out there and share the Good News!

Image Credit: Unknown. JPG file.

Notes:
<1> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism, “Chapter Five Church,” Kindle.
<2> “Love,” Daily Meditations Newsletter, May 12, 2022, https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-2022-05-12/.
<3> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism, “Chapter Five Church,” Kindle.
<4> United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Leader’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching, (Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 37.

References:
1. Himes, Michael J. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004. Kindle.
2. Kurz, William S., SJ. Acts of the Apostles. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. Kindle.
3. “Love.” Daily Meditations Newsletter, May 12, 2022. https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-2022-05-12/.
4. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.
5. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Leader’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching. Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 2000.
6. Williamson, Peter S. Revelation. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.

From the Catechism http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. “as I have loved you”: 459, 1823, 2074, 2196, 2822, 2842
2. A new heaven and a new earth: 756, 865, 1042-50, 2016, 2817
3. Church as God’s temple and Bride: 756-57, 796
4. Characteristics of the people of God: 782
5. Ordained ministry: 1546-51
6. Charity: 1822-29
7. Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper: 2746-51
8. Petitions in the Our Father: 2822, 2842

Fifth Sunday of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031322.cfm
Lectionary: 54

Reading 1
Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Responsorial
Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.

Reading I2
Revelation 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”

The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”

Alleluia
John 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
John 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

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Sixth Sunday of Easter

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Mass Readings

Reading 1: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Responsorial: Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Reading 2: 1 John 4:7-10
Gospel: John 15:9-17

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050921.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

My brothers and sisters, God is love!

Welcome back for another edition of deacon rudy’s notes! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we’re going to break open the Word!

There are so many wonderful things happening in the readings this weekend! The two overarching themes are that the Gentiles are included in the church and that God is love.

Very briefly, the first reading from Acts is amazing. It’s a reminder to us that Gentile membership in the church was not a given. It was something the early church resolved at the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15. But here’s the cool part. Before Peter finished speaking in Acts 10, the Holy Spirit descended on Cornelius and all the Gentiles gathered. The disciples could tell that the Holy Spirit had descended because they could hear the Gentiles speaking in tongues. And they were astounded! So, Peter ordered everyone to be baptized (Acts 10:44-48).

That’s such an interesting reading. I highly encourage you to go back and read that entire story, Acts 10:1-49.

Our second reading and the Gospel focus on love. John reminds us what we find in John 3:16, that God loves us so much that he sent Jesus into the world (1 John 4:9). And while Jesus was here, he taught us about love. The Law is meaningless if it isn’t rooted in love. So, Jesus gave us the Great Commandment. It’s so important that he wanted to make sure we’d understand it, so he said it in two ways. Jesus says you shall love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28). In John’s Gospel account, Jesus says, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you (John 15:12).

Now, it’s easy, I think, to look to our family and our friends and say to ourselves, “Yes, I love them.” That’s the easy part. But check this out. The Gospel tells me that I need to love the yahoo who cut me off in traffic! And what am I supposed to with criminals or with people who vote the wrong way? That’s right! I need to love them. Now between you and me, that’s a much more difficult pill to swallow!

You see, Jesus tells us that if we are going to be his disciples, then we need to keep his commandments (John 15:12, 17), and that means we have to love everyone. That’s not a cop-out! Love does not mean an absence of accountability. So, we can still hold people to account for what they’ve done wrong if they break the law for example. But love tells us how we should respond to them.

If all people are created in the image and likeness of God, and if I am supposed to love everyone, then how can I go to mass and say “I love you, Jesus,” but throw verbal rocks on social media at people who disagree with me?

These last couple of years or so have been a painful lesson about the urgency to preach the words of St. Paul that we hear in Mass: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14). In so many parts of the world, what we see happening in politics and every nation’s response to Covid-19 and everyone’s response to their nation’s response to Covid-19 are excellent examples of how difficult it is to love someone who thinks differently than we do.

And I’m sure each of us can find personal examples where we find it difficult to love someone. But the Church teaches us that Jesus’ command, “Love one another as I love you” (John 15:12), is foundational to the entire Christian life. You can find that described in detail in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1827.

Love says we can disagree with each other. Absolutely we can! But love says I must treat you as a beloved creation in the image and likeness of God. Love says I must treat you with respect. I suggest to you this is easier said than done. Now, the root of the word “disciple” is the Latin word “discere” which means “to learn.” So, being a disciple means I need to constantly be learning. And that’s totally true with love.

Love is a virtue. We call it a theological virtue because God infuses us with love. As I’ve pointed out, it’s not easy to practice the virtue of love. But we can grow in and develop the virtue of love. Remember, a virtue is an intentional good habit. So, we can work at developing virtue or good habits in our lives.

We need to work at it because Jesus tells us that if we follow his commands then we will remain in Jesus’ love (John 15:10). But growing in love isn’t easy. It’s a process and we’re going to discuss one method in our homework in just a minute.

How will I know that it’s working? How can I tell that I’m growing in virtue and overcoming bad habits or vices? Jesus says that we are supposed to go and bear fruit (John 15:16). That’s right, love is not only a virtue. Love is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. That means that even if we can’t notice it, those around us – especially our family and friends – might be able to see the fruits of our spiritual work.

How do we do this? That leads us to Homework!

Nourished by the Word Incarnate and the Eucharist, I invite you to reflect on the following two activities.

First, bring your desire to grow in the virtue of love to God in prayer. Ask God to help you grow in love. You can do this with any virtue or with any vice you want to overcome. Here’s a pro tip. Write it down. No one needs to read it except you but write down your goal. It’s like that old adage, what gets scheduled gets done or if it’s not documented it didn’t happen. So, write down your goal and any thoughts, images, ideas, or feelings that come to you during prayer.

Second, ask yourself what things work against the virtue you want to develop. For example, if you want to grow in love, then what makes you grumpy, irritable, and impatient? A lack of sleep? Too much coffee? Consuming too much news or social media? Once you’ve identified something, resolve with the help of God to overcome it with concrete steps. For example, in addition to writing down your goal, write down actionable steps to overcome the obstacles. So, if you want to grow in love, you might write down that you’re setting a goal to get more sleep, or cut back on coffee, or reduce the amount of time you spend listening to the news or on social media.

You can even record your progress over time. These notes could be helpful in your discernment and in your conversation with your pastor or a spiritual director.

It’s not enough to say “Amen, alleluia!” when we hear Jesus’ words to love one another as he loves us. As disciples, we must take specific steps to grow in virtue and overcome vice. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image Credit: Wiki Loves Love – Meta. By Ed Gregory. JPG. CC0 Creative Commons.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Anderson, Kelly and Daniel Keating. James, First, Second, and Third John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017. Kindle.
2. Kurz, William S. SJ. Acts of the Apostles. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2013. Kindle.
3. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Gentiles in God’s plan: 60, 674, 755, 781
2. Faith: 453-54
3. God is love: 214, 218-21, 231, 257, 733, 2331, 2577
4. God loving us by sending his Son: 457-58, 604, 620
5. Call to love one another: 459, 1823-25
6. Love of God and neighbor fulfills the Commandments: 1789, 1822-29, 2067, 2069
7. Charity: 1822-29
8. Friendship with Christ: 2347, 2709
9. Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper: 2746-51

Sixth Sunday of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050921.cfm
Lectionary: 56

Reading 1
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him
and, falling at his feet, paid him homage.
Peter, however, raised him up, saying,
“Get up. I myself am also a human being.”

Then Peter proceeded to speak and said,
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.”

While Peter was still speaking these things,
the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.
The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter
were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit
should have been poured out on the Gentiles also,
for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God.
Then Peter responded,
“Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people,
who have received the Holy Spirit even as we have?”
He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Responsorial
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R. (cf. 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or: R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or: R. Alleluia.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or: R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or: R. Alleluia.

Reading 2
1 John 4:7-10
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

Alleluia
John 14:23
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
John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

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30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

image of red ants pulling apart a black ant

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Mass readings

First Reading: Exodus 22:20-26
Responsorial: Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5C-10
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102520.cfm
www.deaconrudysnotes.org

My brothers and sisters, once again we are presented with the readings which totally speak to our situation today. Our world, at least in the west, is becoming so polarized. People – our own friends and families – are ripping other people apart on social media. We see that right now in the United States with the upcoming presidential election. But we also witnessed extreme polarization in the UK over Brexit. The great challenge for Christians is to resist – to not allow our church communities to be ripped apart by politics.

Of course, we have a responsibility to bring our faith into politics and business – to help people see beyond the problems of everyday life. Our readings today remind us where our true focus should be. But today’s readings also answer the question, “Why do we need a church?” Let’s get to it then!

In today’s Gospel, Matthew tells us that because Jesus was successful in dismissing the Sadducees, the Pharisees decided to give a go (Matthew 22:34-35). So, one of them asked, “Teacher, what’s the most important commandment in the Torah?” (Matthew 22:36). Now, this really wasn’t a trick question as much as a test. Did Jesus have a sufficient understanding of the Law to teach it? <1>

Jesus replies with one answer stated two different ways. “You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your mind…[and] You will love your neighbor as yourself. The whole Torah (and Prophets) depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). How is this possible? If we believe that we are created in the image and likeness of God, and if we accept Jesus’ teaching that whatever we do for the least of these we do for him (Matthew 25:40), then loving God is the same as loving our neighbor and loving our neighbor is the same as loving God. I think the song “The Proof of Your Love” by King & Country explains this point more eloquently that me. You’ve got to check it out! I’ve got a link in the podcast to it. <2>

But what does this have to do with church? Do we really need a church?

There are at least two reasons we need to consider. First, Christianity is not some intellectual activity that we subscribe to after considering a series of arguments for and against. No! Christianity is a report. It is the Gospel – it is the Good News! But in order to “hear” the Good News, someone had to bring it to us. We are a community – we are a church – because someone at some particular point in time brought to the community the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ, or as Bishop Robert Barron would say, the Great Story of Jesus. What does Paul do? He brings the Good News to the people at Thessalonica, at Colossae, at Corinth, at Ephesus. Right? He brings the Good News to the people. Being a Christian means we heard the Good News from someone else, like our parents or teachers or friends or pastors. <3>

The second reason why we are a church – why church is central to the Christian life – is that the Gospel makes this extraordinary claim that my relationship with God is dependent on my relationship with my neighbor. <4>

How could someone born to a castaway and raised alone on a deserted island be a Christian? It’s unlikely for two reasons: someone needs to bring that person the Good News, and that person needs to be part of a community of believers. If you are not part of a community, how can you ever practice loving your neighbor?

Why is this so important for us today in our increasingly polarized world? We should be first Christian, then American or British or Swiss, etc. And somewhere way down the line, we might identify as Republican or Democrat, Tories or Labour, etc. Never party before God and country! Yet something is stirring the pot. It’s like putting some red and black ants in a jar. I saw this interesting image on social media. They’ll get along just fine unless you shake the jar. Then they’ll start to rip each other apart. As Christians who are challenged by today’s Gospel to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we need to ask ourselves, “Who is shaking the jar?”

My brothers and sisters, I am not advocating for one political point of view over another. I am advocating for “the Way, the Truth and the Life” that is Christ Jesus (John 14:6). As Christians we’re not supposed to rip our neighbors apart! No! We should be trying to help alleviate people’s anxiety by sharing the hope of Jesus Christ. We need to have the courage to point out the demons shaking the jar. We need to help lead people into the community of believers, not out of it. The Gospel today gives us quite a bit to think about before and after the upcoming elections.

Homework! Enlighted by the Word of God and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions.
First, what does the word “church” mean to you?
Second, do you remember who brought the Good News to you? How have you shared the Good News with others?

Perhaps our homework will help us lead the people we encounter away from polarization and back to the church. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Image Credit: Unknown. JPG file.

Notes:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotes are taken from The Bible: A Study Bible freshly translated by Nicholas King. Buxhall, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2013.
<1> Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 288.
<2> King & Country, “The Proof of Your Love,” YouTube, 14 September 2012, Accessed 22 October 2020, https://youtu.be/b-2dKOfbC9c.
<3> Himes, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism, “Chapter Five: Church,” Kindle.
<4> Ibid.

References:
1. Eubank, Nathan. First and Second Thessalonians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academics, 2019. Kindle.
2. Himes, Michael. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004. Kindle.
3. King & Country. “The Proof of Your Love.” YouTube, 14 September 2012. Accessed 22 October 2020. https://youtu.be/b-2dKOfbC9c.
4. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. The living God, 205
2. The Holy Spirit, 686-747
3. The Ten Commandments, 2052-74
4. The two love commandments, 2055, 2083
5. Moral life a response to the Lord’s initiative of love, 2061-63

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102520.cfm
Lectionary: 148

Reading 1
Exodus 22:20-26
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 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
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
1 Thessalonians 1:5C-10
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
John 14:23
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
Matthew 22:34-40
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.”