· XXX (A) Ordinary, October 23, 2005
· Theme: The Great Commandments call us to stretch our understanding of both God and Neighbor.

· When I think of the Two Great Commandments,
· To Love God with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength
· To Love my neighbor as myself,
· I usually want to read them separately, and apply them to myself as an individual.
· But there is a broader perspective that is more Scriptural.

· Both of these Commandments are from the Torah; that is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible - Old Testament:
· Dt 6:4-5 (often called the Shema)
· “Hear. O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
· Lev 19:18
· “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
· What was unique about Jesus was that he did not treat them separately, but rather, he put the two commandments together in such a way that they are inseparable:
· The Vertical Relationship
· The Horizontal Relationships

· The Dual Commandments, To Love God And To Love One Another are the two principal facets of the same Diamond:
· Once we have bowed our head in prayer to love and honor God,
· Then we have to lift our heads and see the people around us in our world,
· Because we are called to work with them to build up the People of God

· Who are our neighbors?
· If we look at today’s first reading, we get a sense of what the Hebrew Bible has in mind when it speaks of “neighbor.”
· The book of Exodus challenges the Israelites to care for the most vulnerable in the society: Widows, Orphans, and Aliens.
· “Widows” were women without children whose husbands had died and who had no one to provide for and protect them.
· “Orphans” had no male guardian and so were vulnerable and often destitute.
· “Aliens” were those living among the Israelites, but from another place. They too were vulnerable since they didn’t have the necessary support and protection a family could give in that Mediterranean culture.
· The Israelites were advised not to forget their own history of struggle since they were once aliens in Egypt.
· They were to remember their hard times and how God had taken care of them and rescued them.
· As God’s people they were expected to reflect the God they believed in and to do for another group of aliens and vulnerable people what God had done for them.
· In the Gospel Jesus challenges both the Pharisees and us to stretch both our normal understanding of God’s presence in our lives and also our understanding of who is our neighbor.

· There are signs of Hope that we can go beyond ourselves to love God and neighbor:
· 1) Eucharist
· In today’s Gospel, Jesus first calls for total dedication to God.
· Our response to God must be such because to love God, “…with all you heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” is not a part-time activity.
· Love of God requires daily commitment and frequent renewal, which is why we gather for Eucharist.
· Next Jesus challenges those who hear him not forget those around them.
· If we are to make real the meaning of the “Communion” that we share at Sunday Liturgy,
· If we are to be the “Body of Christ”;
· Then we profess that the walls of our daily enclaves need to be breached, so as to be able to recognize the neighbors around us, especially the most vulnerable.

· 2) Carnival:
· Months of work by lots of people,
· People of Different Races and Languages working together for the Good of the School and the Church,
· People just having fun together – is an expression of our understanding of God’s love for us and of our connection with our neighbor.

· Let us pray as we continue with the Liturgy,
· In thanksgiving for God’s Holy Spirit working among us to open our hearts to the needs of all;
· Let us pray that the Love of God completely penetrate our hearts;
· Let us pray that our response to that love of God become our compassionate love for all God’s People.

· Amen

Comments