Love Extending To Those In Need

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time ( 25 October 2020 )

[ Exodus 22:20-26 , Ps 17:2-4.47.51 , Thessalonians 1:5-10 , Matthew 22:34-40 ]

Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, counters the notion that that love of God and love of neighbor are two parallel but separate spheres of human responsibility. Rather, they are mutually interdependent loves. The Jews of Jesus’ time often recited the Shema, a pseudo creed taken from the Book of Deuteronomy several times each day to affirm that all that they do flows from their relationship with the God of Israel. Loving God is easy, it conjures up feelings of warmth, fuzziness and gratitude as we look back on what God has done for us like the Jews of yore but the Old Testament isn’t speaking of that kind of love, rather, it speaks of a stubborn, unwavering commitment to imitate God in taking the needs of our neighbor seriously. The true benchmark of a Christian is when he can put the reinterpreted unified teaching of Jesus into practice, our love for God in devotion and piety must extend and reach the human person.

伸出援手的博爱