30TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
THE COMPLETE ANSWER
MT 22: 34-40
MESSAGE
Filipinos often joke about our usual indirect way of replying. “Have you eaten?,” the mom asks. “I’m full,” the child answers. “Where is the school,” a stranger inquires. “It’s far from here,” the responder quips. Perhaps the same could be asked about the exchange between the Lord Jesus and the scholar of the law. When asked about the greatest commandment, the Lord did not supply a singular answer but gave him two. Why?
Was the Lord confusing his interlocutor? He was not confusing, but rather expanding, the context. He was providing him, not with the “precise answer” he expects, but the “complete answer” he needs. For the greatest commandment is not exclusive; it must be the “complete commandment,” too. For love is not one-sided. For to love God is an opening of the heart to all whom he loves as well.
Later followers of the Lord understood this plainly as in the declaration of John (1 Jn. 4: 20) that we cannot love the invisible God unless we love the neighbor who is in full view before us. Such is the mystery of love. In some Asian cultures like ours, falling in love with another means being ready to love that other person’s family as well. If a woman desires to consecrate herself to God’s service as a nun, she promises to offer her life also for her brothers and sisters. Even those in the corporate world know that loving your job is not only focusing on your weekly report but embracing all the values your company promotes.
The Lord reminds us of the risk, but also of the adventure, of truly loving. It will uplift your soul but it will make you more grounded too, as you open your eyes to the needs of others.
REFLECT
Often we think that our relationship with God must be private. It is personal, but never private. It is personal and relational. Let us resist the temptation of thinking that we can hide ourselves from others when we live under God’s wings.
kilalanin si Ka Luring Franco, Pilipinang katekista na kandidata sa pagiging santa… https://play.google.com/store/search?q=simpleng%20katekista&c=books&hl=en_GB
