October 29, 2023
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
It would be safe to assume that most people, whether familiar with the Old Testament or not, have heard the story of the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. These are the passages where we find the “Law of Moses,” or divine precepts given by God to Moses and the people of Israel so that they might learn to live as a holy nation.
We get a glimpse of the essence of these laws in both the First Reading and the Gospel for today. In the scene from the book of Exodus (Exod. 22:20-26), the Israelites have already received the Ten Commandments dictated by God to Moses. These fall into two categories. The first category deals with the relationship between God and the people – having no false gods or idols, not taking God’s name in vain, and observing the Sabbath. The second category involves proper ways for humans to relate to one another by not stealing, murdering, lying, or committing adultery.
As Moses continues to talk to God, he is given an extensive list of other regulations which the people will be required to follow. These are part of what is called “The Covenant Code,” regulations designed to encompass every aspect of Israelite life, including economic, civil and criminal matters.
The set of laws that we hear in Exodus 22:20-26 fall under the sub-category, “social laws.” These laws contain a profound humanitarian component, containing several stipulations for the protection of the poor and disenfranchised, the widow and the slave, and other codes of social justice unique for this time period of Israel.
Some of these laws, and the punishment for breaking them, are specifically listed by God: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien. 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, and my wrath will flare up; then your own wives will be widows and your own children orphans. If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner by demanding interest from him.” (Exod. 22:20a, 21-22a,23).
Of the six-hundred and thirteen laws of Israel, as found throughout the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, it is evident that these social laws were of utmost importance. God was most concerned that Israel show compassion to the poor and powerless members of society, what the Church today calls the preferential option for the poor.
In the Gospel for today (Mt. 22:34-40) we see Jesus reference these laws as he is confronted and put to the test by the Pharisees. From the hundreds of laws found in their Hebrew Scriptures, and scores of others that have developed since the time of Moses, they try to trick Jesus into singling out just one. They ask him, “Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” (Mt. 22:36).
Jesus needs no time for deliberation. He provides an answer without delay: “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.” (Mt. 22:37-40).
With this response, Jesus is quoting what is known as the “Shema,” a prayer developed from the Hebrew Scriptures by ancient Israel to declare the oneness and uniqueness of God (Deut.6:4-9; Num. 15:37-4). By using the Shema, Jesus offers one interpretation in fulfilling the law; it is a law of love which includes both categories of the Ten Commandments – love of God and love of neighbor.
Following this commandment of Jesus is no less important today than during his time. But it is not always easy to do. Our lives are filled with countless distractions and responsibilities which prevent us from putting God first in our lives. And there are other things like pride, selfishness, and greed, which keep us from loving our neighbor more than ourselves.
Yet the reading from Exodus tells us how we can put the love of neighbor into practice by listing four groups of people: the alien, the widow, the orphan, and the poor. These are the powerless people in society, what the scriptures call the “oppressed.”
We still have these groups in our cities and towns today. The aliens are immigrants from other countries who come to our country looking for freedom, peace, and a better way of life. The widows are not only women whose husbands have died, but also those trying to make ends meet on a fixed income, or single parents struggling to provide for themselves and their children.
The orphans mentioned in Exodus are not only children without parents, but also children without enough food, without adequate housing, and without sufficient health care. And the poor and the homeless wander our streets carrying shopping bags or pushing carts containing all of their earthly possessions.
When we treat all people how we want to be treated, when we treat them like Jesus would – with compassion, mercy, and love – then we are, in fact, loving God with out whole heart, and soul, and mind. For Jesus tells us, “‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” (Mt. 25:40).
