What does love look like?
Sometimes we make faith complicated. We have doctrines to understand. Commandments to follow. Traditions to cherish. Scriptures to study.
All of these matter. But in today's Gospel, a scholar of the law asks Jesus to bring everything down to what matters most.
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Jesus answers with words every faithful Jew would recognize:
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Love God.
Completely.
Passionately.
With everything you are.
But Jesus doesn't stop there.
“The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
And then Jesus does something extraordinary: he binds these two commandments together.
“The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
We cannot separate them. We cannot claim to love the God we cannot see while ignoring the person standing in front of us.
And today's First Reading makes that love wonderfully concrete.
Do not oppress the stranger. Care for the widow and the orphan. Do not exploit the poor.
If your neighbor has given you his cloak as security for a loan, give it back before nightfall. He needs it to keep warm.
Why? Because God says:
“I am compassionate.”
There it is.
Love is not merely a feeling.
Love notices.
Love listens.
Love protects.
Love feeds.
Love forgives.
Love sees the person whom everyone else has overlooked.
Last Sunday, Jesus held up a coin and asked whose image was stamped upon it.
We reflected that another image has been stamped upon us from the beginning:
the image of God.
But that image is not ours alone. It is carried by the person sitting beside us.
By the stranger. By the poor. By the lonely.
By the person who irritates us.
By the person whose life we may not understand.
Every human being bears the image of God.
Perhaps this is why Jesus refuses to separate the two great commandments.
To love God is to learn how to recognize God's image in one another.
Three Sundays ago, Jesus invited us to a feast. Last Sunday, he reminded us whose image we bear. Today, he shows us what that image looks like when it comes alive:
Love God.
Love your neighbor.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these. And perhaps our lives do, too.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Entrance Antiphon Let the Hearts that Seek the Lord Rejoice (Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart and Curtis Stephan)
Let Us All Rejoice #187
This antiphon text from Psalm 105 invites us to open our hearts to God with joy.
Entrance Chant Many and One (Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart and Dwight Liles)
Spirit & Song #331; Breaking Bread #544
We begin our Eucharist with this thoughtful song of unity that will prepare us for the teaching of today’s Gospel.
Responsorial Psalm I Love You, Lord, My Strength (Jesse Manibusan)
Spirit & Psalm 2026: p. 322
Jesse’s verbatim setting of Psalm 18 is gentle and appealing.
Gospel Acclamation Alleluia: Mass of St. Mary Magdalene (Sarah Hart)
Spirit & Psalm 2026: p. 324
Once again, the acclamation verse leads us to the message of the Gospel.
Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts Hold On to Love (Jesse Manibusan)
Breaking Bread #406
The popular “Hold On to Love” now has lyrics in Spanish and English, making it an accessible way to bring communities together at liturgy.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Communion Antiphon Christ Loved Us and Gave Himself Up for Us [Option 2] (Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart and Curtis Stephan)
Let Us All Rejoice #189
Antiphon Option 2 is a reflection on Christ’s love for us.
Communion Chant Ubi Caritas (Bob Hurd)
Spirit & Song #259; Breaking Bread #354
With lyrics in Spanish, Vietnamese, English and Latin, Bob Hurd’s “Ubi Caritas” is a unique opportunity to bring various communities together in song. Refrain is in Latin, the language of the Church.
Sending Forth Lead Me, Lord (John Becker)
Spirit & Song #221; Never Too Young #19; Breaking Bread #640
We go forth from this Eucharist to share what we have received. As always, we ask the Lord to lead us into the world with joy.
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