THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

XXX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Ex Exodus 22:20-26

God’s covenant with his people is at the centre of the life of Israel and people must remain faithful to the commitment implied and demanded by that covenant. In the book of Exodus, there is a reference to Moses reading the Book of the Covenant to the people (Ex 24:7). The Covenant Code (Ex 20:22 - 23:33), that is, the Laws that have their basis on the Covenant put forward in an explicit form the demands of the Covenant. At its foundation are the ten commandments, which come from the Lord who set his people free: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Ex 20:2). The ten commandments are an expression of the dignity of a free people, who reflect in their life the glory of God. After the Ten Commandments, the book of Exodus presents a series of laws that must shape society, that is the norms and rules which are to be followed by the people of God. Most of those laws are similar to the laws followed by neighbouring nations. However, in Israel, those laws are founded on the covenant between God and his people and always take into account human dignity, since we are made in the image of God.

In this Sunday liturgy, the first reading comes from the book of Exodus and stresses our social responsibilities, pointing out the specific cases of the stranger, the widow, the orphan and the poor who has to borrow money. The stranger must be respected. And the people of Israel are called upon to remember that once, as strangers in Egypt, they were held in captivity. Thus they are called upon to behave differently: “You must not molest the stranger or oppress him”. With so many immigrants in our midst, we should examine ourselves and the way we deal with them.

The orphan and the widow always deserve special consideration and protection. Since they lost the ones who gave them support and protection, they must be looked after with care by the other members of the community.

And there is a warning for the money lenders who tend to be usurers. If a poor man borrows money from them, they cannot demand interest or even a pledge from him. For the poor, it is a question of survival and we are called upon to lighten their burden of poverty.

This Sunday’s gospel gives us the true foundation of our social responsibility. Answering the question about the greatest commandment of the Law, Jesus said: “You must 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 resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.” (Mt 22:34-40). The love of God will lead us to love our neighbour, paying attention mainly to those who are in a situation of suffering.

GIVE TO GOD WHAT BELONGS TO GOD

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:15-21

This Sunday, we read the famous passage about the taxes to Caesar, with much wider implications about the relationship between the State and the Church. Surprisingly, the Pharisees came together with the  Herodians to catch Jesus and have a case against him. They began by speaking flattering words of praise to deceive Jesus. However, Jesus read their intentions and prepared himself for their deceit. 

In 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem and the Jews lost their freedom. During a time, the Romans allowed Herod the Great as a king, serving the Roman Emperor. Herod was considered a foreigner and hated because of his harsh rule. Being Roman vassals, the Jews had to pay taxes to them, doing it with hard feelings. While the Sadducees tried to maintain good relations with the Romans, other groups grumbly paid their taxes. It is not surprising that all wanted to know which side Jesus would take. Indeed, the question was formulated in such a way that had to take sides. If he affirmed the obligation of paying taxes, he would be considered a collaborator who accepted the Roman oppression. If he sided with those who refused to pay taxes, he would be considered a rebel, who defied the Roman rule and incurred their anger. That would be enough to be sentenced to death on the cross. Before the question about paying taxes or not, it seemed that there was no way out for Jesus.

Well aware of the trap that they had set for him, Jesus gave an answer that left them puzzled. First, he asked to be shown a coin and they “handed him a denarius”. Then, he asked: “Whose head is this? Whose name?” The answer was clear: “Caesar’s”. They were using Roman money everywhere in their daily lives, despite having the emperor’s image engraved on it, something that was forbidden by the Law. Then, Jesus’ answer and solution were straightforward: Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar “and to God what belongs to God.” The State must care for the welfare of the citizens and, in doing that, may put demands that the citizens must comply with. However, the State can never take God’s place. We cannot give to the State what belongs to God. Before God, everything else is relative. Accepting God’s supremacy is the guarantee of our freedom and our dignity since the Glory of God is best revealed in a human being fully alive. They presented Jesus with a Roman coin with the Caesar’s image on it. However, we should never forget that we carry the image of God in us and that is the source of our dignity. We cannot allow God’s image in us to be erased. Give to God what belongs to God is the way to faithfulness and salvation.

 INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST OF THE LAMB

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:1-14

This Sunday’s readings deal with are about a wedding and a banquet, two important themes in the Scriptures. The Bible presents us with the marriage of Adam and Eve at the beginning and the marriage of the Lamb at the end. In the beginning, after creating man, God created the woman “and brought her to the man” (Gn 2:22). In the end, there will be the wedding feast of the Lamb. The New Jerusalem is “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev 21:9). The parable of this Sunday’s gospel is about the wedding feast of the royal prince, the Messiah. 

A royal wedding is always a great feast with many guests invited to the banquet. The first reading, taken from Isaiah, speaks of a lavish banquet prepared by God for all peoples (Is 25:6). Nobody will be ignored and excluded. Surprisingly, Isaiah was already aware of the universality of God’s plan of salvation. This universality of salvation takes into account the role played by the people of Israel, who were the first ones to be invited. The parable speaks of the difficult relationship between God and Israel, the people He had chosen to bring about redemption to all nations.

The parable informs us that the Father, the King, prepared a grandiose and magnificent banquet, having invited beforehand a lot of people. On the actual day, the king sent his servants to remind the guests of the banquet. They refused to attend the wedding and participate in the banquet. The king insisted, sending some more servants. Despite the king’s plea, they refused to come, going so far as to insult, ill-treated and even kill the servants. The king was furious and punished harshly all those who had behaved in such a criminal way.

Then, the king sent his servants to the streets and roads to bring “everyone they could find, bad and good alike”.

In the parable, Jesus denounces the self-righteous leaders of the people, who contemptuously refused to accept the invitation. Then, the invitation was addressed to people of all kinds and nations who filled the kingdom hall and sat at the king’s table to eat the royal food.

Everybody is invited. However, to sit at the king’s table, one must answer the invitation. We cannot present ourselves anyhow. Nobody goes to a wedding feast in shabby clothes. 

“I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

my justice was like a robe and a turban.” (Job 29:14)

GOD’S LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE

XXVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Isaiah 5:1-7

In the first reading of this Sunday’s liturgy, taken from Isaiah, we can a song of love - the Lord’s love for his vineyard. The vineyard is the people of God. With love and care, God did everything possible to have the best vines planted to harvest the best grapes and produce the finest wine. However, it yielded only sour grapes. And the owner of the vineyard asks himself: “What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done?” It sounds as if he wasted his time and money. In the end, he made the difficult decision of abandoning the vineyard: “I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug; overgrown by the briar and the thorn.” The prophet Isaiah applies the parable of the vineyard to the people of Israel, who, despite being chosen and loved by God, produced no good fruits. According to the prophet, the Lord “expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress.” Instead of service and obedience, the people of Israel responded with defiance and revolt.

The song of the vineyard can be applied as well to the Church and humanity in general. God has offered us his love, and we have despised his love. Time and again, we turn against God, throwing him out of our lives and taking his place. In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus takes the song of Isaiah as his point of departure. The vineyard belongs to the Lord, who entrusted it to tenants but they behaved as if they were the owners. That is the big sin - a sin that comes from Adam and Eve:  as human beings, we refuse to acknowledge God’s love and care and behave as rebels, intent on taking God’s place and becoming the owners of the universe. Like the owner of the vineyard, God sent messengers and prophets that were ill-treated and even killed. In the end, he sent his only Son, his beloved, in the hope that they would respect him. They didn’t and killed him instead. With this parable, Jesus goes through the history of salvation that ends in his death at the hands of the leaders in Jerusalem. The parable presents also a stern warning of judgement and punishment given out to the rebels who tried to take over the vineyard. 

If we do not produce fruits of love worthy of God’s loving mercy for us, we will be thrown out of the vineyard.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,

  look down from heaven and see.

Visit this vine and protect it,

  the vine your right hand has planted.

And we shall never forsake you again;

  give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;

  let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. 

(Psalm 80)