Word to the Wise
Friday, August 21, 2020 - Friday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 37:1-14 and Matt 22:34-40]"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" [Jesus] 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 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." [Matthew]
AUGUST 21 ST. PIUS X, pope
Within the first five books of the Bible - the "Torah" - were found 613 precepts that truly observant Jews were expected to follow. The Pharisees considered themselves to be the most observant. But they disagreed about the importance and interpretation of those precepts. To this day, there are at least two schools of interpretation: Hillel and Shammai!! The precepts govern all aspects of life and it can be challenging in our time to apply them. The precept against building a fire on the Sabbath, for instances, is interpreted by some Jews in our day to mean one cannot use electricity! This is a way of life governed by faith that they are following God's will. Nevertheless, the debate went on and in today's gospel scripture Jesus is challenged to identify which precepts are the most important. He chooses one from Deuteronomy, a prayer that pious Jews say everyday: "Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One. You shall love the Lord your God, etc..." [Deut. 6:5]. The second one is taken from Leviticus 19:18: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." One might recall here the account in the Gospel According to Luke 10:25-37 when Jesus answers the same question but when the lawyer asks what is meant by "my neighbor," Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan!
Can one imagine what would happen in any law-making body in this country or even in our beloved Church if the primary criteria for any rule would be, "How does this help us to love God and neighbor more?" It is a great challenge to our individualism to acknowledge that there is a God more powerful than we are (ask Adam and Eve) and to acknowledge that we do have a neighbor whose needs may be greater than our own!!! In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Levites and the Samaritan were challenged to transcend both the "Law" and prejudice. It was the Samaritan who helped, and not the victim's fellow Jews. This is more than an individual act of kindness. Jesus proposes it as the way to follow him [Matt. 25:31-45[. How many of us consider this when we legislate or vote? AMEN