A Word on the Word

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ex 22:20-26

1 Thes 1:5-10

Mt 22:34-40

It's about time to ponder the Scriptures we'll hear proclaimed at Mass this weekend for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The thrust of Jesus’ comments on Sunday are directed to the assembled onlookers. Love God. Confused about how to do that? Love your neighbor.

The law of love is a powerful force. When it’s embraced, and put into practice, personal relationships are affected and entire societies are transformed. It doesn’t really matter whether the love’s being expressed in a large family in Mineola, among the children of St. Martin de Porres school, in downtown Uniondale in these times, or among us today. In every time and place and situation, the practice of love of God and love of neighbor is going to have an impact on the world.

So let’s get a helper’s high. Nothing wrong with that.

But understand that this is about the nature of God and how deserving God is of our love.

What better way to reach up and touch God than to reach down and touch the fallen, or to reach over and pull the alienated to ourselves, or to reach around and embrace someone who’s alone in the world.