1st Reading – Exodus 22:20-26
Thus says the LORD:
“You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
“If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”
Today’s first reading comes from ancient Israel’s code of law and reveals the humane nature of that law. This passage underscores Jesus’ teaching in today’s gospel about the integral connection between love of God and love of neighbor.
(This passage appears as Exodus 22:21-27 in most translations, but the New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible have it as Exodus 22:20-26.)
Thus says the LORD: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
The aliens (gēr) referred to here are not merely foreigners passing through the land of the Israelites; they live among people who are not their relatives. They do not enjoy the civil rights or privileges that come with kinship.
Why would they live in a place where they have no rights? Aliens were usually forced to leave their homes because of adverse conditions like war, disease, or famine.
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
A special reason is given for consideration of the alien: the Israelites themselves had been aliens in Egypt. Jacob, the great Israelite patriarch, was forced by a severe famine to emigrate there with his entire family.
In fact, it was precisely the hardships the Israelites experienced in Egypt that led to the revelation of their God as the God of the dispossessed.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
Women in Israel’s patriarchal society were under the jurisdiction of (and benefited from) the rights that belonged to their fathers, their brothers when their fathers died, their husbands when they married, and their sons when their husbands died.
The term “widow” generally referred to childless women whose husbands had died and who could not return to their family of origin. They were often reduced to begging, a life that was always dangerous, but particularly so for women.
Orphans were children who had no legal male guardians. They too were utterly vulnerable and relegated to lives of begging.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry.
Throughout scripture, God shows himself to be particularly attentive to the disadvantaged. If these vulnerable aliens, widows, and orphans are further oppressed and they cry out to God, God will hear them just as he heard the cry of the Israelites when they were in bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3:7).
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
The punishment for afflicting them is severe. Those guilty will be killed, and their wives and children will themselves be forced to endure the plight of the widowed and orphaned.
“If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him.
The law is also concerned with the poor, whose financial hardships are not to exacerbated by their fellow man. If they need to borrow money to recover their lives, the Israelites are instructed to provide them interest-free. The loans addressed here are not for commercial purposes, but for alleviating distress; taking interest in these cases would be profiting from another’s misfortune.
If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in?
Every attempt must be made to prevent additional humiliation or distress to those in need. Since one’s cloak also served as a blanket against the evening chill, to demand that cloak as a pledge would deprive that person of warmth and protection.
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”
Once again God promises to hear the cries of the dispossessed and vulnerable. The reason God gives for his concern is: I am gracious (hannûn)! He is concerned about those who are vulnerable.
God is the God of the oppressed.
2nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
This week we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. In today’s reading, Paul develops the theme of transmitting the gospel by the example of lifestyle.
Brothers and sisters: You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
The process of transmitting the gospel through daily living begins with Paul and his companions. Their manner of living among the Thessalonians converted them; now they too imitate God in the manner revealed by Christ.
Francis of Assisi taught a similar message when he exhorted his followers: “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”
“Those who, eager to believe, suffer insults and injuries from their fellows, are precisely those who may be called imitators of the apostles and of the Lord Himself. He suffered the same things from the Jews, as did the apostles who endured persecution as they pursued their faith in God.” [The Ambrosiaster (between 366-384 AD), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles 1 Thessalonians 1:6]
so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.
The conversion of the Thessalonians had such an extraordinary effect on their lives that they in turn made a comparable impact on the lives of others. Their reputation has spread throughout Macedonia and Achaia, Roman provinces in the eastern part of Greece.
For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you,
It seems that even the details of the conversion of the Thessalonians are well known.
and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
Paul uses what may have been a creedal formula to describe how they turned from idols to the worship of the one living and true God.
and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
To the monotheism of the living God, christology is added. Jesus is depicted as the one who was raised from the dead by God, and the one who will come from heaven to save them.
In other words: Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again.
Paul believes that those who are faithful amidst the tribulations of this life will be spared the final wrath of God. He is not painting a picture of doom, but rather giving meaning to the hardships the Christians are presently enduring. In doing so, he gives them a hopeful future.
Gospel – Matthew 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He 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 the 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.”
In last week’s reading, the Pharisees, a lay group with influence among the Jewish people because of their knowledge and piety, failed to trap Jesus with their question about paying taxes. In today’s reading, they decide to try again.
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
Between last week’s reading and today’s, Matthew’s gospel tells us that some Sadducees asked Jesus a question that challenged him on the idea of resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33). Jesus successfully refuted their argument on their own terms, astounding the crowd.
they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
The Pharisees send a scribe to test Jesus. Scribes were experts in the law of the Torah.
The Pharisees understood obedience to the law to be the core of one’s relationship with God. This focus led them to be legalists. They faulted Jesus for sometimes disobeying the law as he did when he plucked grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) and when he healed on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:9-14).
The Pharisees’ legalistic attitude also resulted in their misunderstanding of the spiritual life. They saw their righteousness as something they earned through obedience to the law. While the Pharisees saw themselves as righteous and obedient, Jesus sees them as proud, legalistic, and judgmental — all qualities that blinded them to the truths Jesus was teaching.
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
This question was of considerable interest to rabbis at the time; there was seemingly little agreement about the answer.
While the discussion in rabbinic circles was probably for the sake of clarification, Matthew points out that the question is posed to Jesus with the specific intent to test him.
The nature of the test lies in the controversy surrounding the issue. In the Pharisees’ minds, whatever answer Jesus gave would upset at least part of the crowd. Further, if it appeared he was annulling part of the Law, his status in the community as a teacher would be diminished or even destroyed.
He 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 the first commandment.
Jesus exposes the Pharisees’ blindness by basing his answer on the very source they consider to be authoritative: the law. His answer gives the two texts from the Jewish Scriptures that underlie all of New Testament morality.
First, he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5. In doing so, he doesn’t single out any particular statute but rather endorses the summons that constitutes the Shema, the principal Jewish confession of faith and the most significant prayer of the Israelite religion.
To the injunction to love God with all one’s heart and soul, Jesus adds “with all your mind,” likely to emphasize the need for one to engage the total person. The love of God must occupy one’s entire being and not be simply a superficial allegiance.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18. Note how this second commandment is said to be like the first, rather than secondary in importance.
The Pharisees believed not only in the Law of Moses but also in 613 rabbinical traditions, the “fence around the Law” that had been developed to protect a person from inadvertent transgressions. These precepts were divided into those which were “heavy,” or very important, and others which were “light.” This teaching from Leviticus was considered by the Pharisess to be “lighter” than the precept Jesus named from Deuteronomy. Part of the novelty of Jesus’ answer is that he puts these two teachings side by side with equal weight.
By bringing these admonitions together as he does, Jesus focuses on the real disagreement between himself and the Pharisees. Their disagreement is not over whether the law should be honored; Jesus and the Pharisees both honor the law. The real disagreement is over the core value of the spiritual life embedded in the law, the core way to live in fidelity to God. Is it strict obedience to the letter of the law or is it love of God and neighbor?
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
With his final statement, Jesus demonstrates that singling out these two commandments in no way abrogates the other commandments. Instead, the entire religious tradition (“the law and the prophets”) depends upon this framework of love.
For Jesus, obedience to the law is not a goal in its own right. The law exists in order to help people stay in right relationship with God and with their neighbors. What the Pharisees intended as a trap has been parlayed by Jesus into an opportunity to use the law to emphasize love rather than compliance. He also connects love of God with love of neighbor, a message that the prophets consistently taught.
There is no genuine fulfillment of the law that does not flow from the love of God and the love of others.
Connections and Themes
Created in love. Our religious tradition is founded on love. Actually, life itself is grounded in love, a love that is open and generous. We may not always feel this love, but if we are honest and allow ourselves to reflect on life, we realize this truth. We have been called into being and we are sustained in existence for no other reason than loving generosity. We are recipients of unbounded generosity; for some reason, we are loved. It was out of love that we came from nothing. We certainly did nothing to deserve this love — all we can conclude is that we are loved because the source from which we came is loving. This is precisely what the Scriptures tell us again and again (Jeremiah 31:3; Matthew 10:31; 1 John 4:8).
The universe springs from this love; we have been called by this love; we will only be happy if we live in this love. Therefore, when we are directed to love God and love one another, we are not being asked to do something contrary to our nature. Rather, we are being told to live in accord with the nature out of which we have been fashioned. We come from God who is love, so it is in our very nature to love and be loved.
Love of God and neighbor. We may sometimes think it is easier to love God than to love others. It may actually be just the opposite. Other people are tangible. We can see and hear them, interact with them. Their influence on our lives can permeate our consciousness. That is not the way it is with God. Like Moses on the mountain, we can only see the traces of divinity as God passes by (Exodus 33:23). However, we show we love God by loving what God loves; we show we love God in the way we love our neighbor. Our religious tradition even goes so far as to say we really do not love God if we do not love others (1 John 4:20).
It’s true that we love God when we love those who are an intimate part of our lives, but love like God’s love must be more expansive than this. If our love is open and generous like God’s love, we will care for the widows, the orphans, and the aliens; we will feed the hungry and visit the sick; we will alleviate the misery of those suffering from mental illness; we will open our arms to those who have been forced to the margins of society. If our love is open and generous like God’s love, we will do what we can to provide decent living conditions for people trapped in the prison of poverty; we will work to ensure clean water and air and a healthy world for those who will come after us. If our love is open and generous like God’s love, we will treasure God’s word and God’s people within it.
The witness of love. Love, which is the foundation of the reign of God, is contagious. When we love others, the reign of God spreads throughout the world. It was the goodness of their lives that made the Thessalonians renowned in the neighboring territories. The compassion that we show toward others is a form of evangelization. It proclaims much louder than any words could ever do that the reign of God has been established. When we love like this, we truly love with the openness and generosity of God.
Sunday Readings 