Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk Thirtieth Sunday of the Year, A – October 25, 2020.
Readings: Ex 22:20-26; Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:2-3bc4.47.51ab (R.2136); 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10 & Gospel Matthew 22:34-40.
Theme: Love God & Neighbour!
Sunday Synopsis
The first reading urges us to be kind and considerate to strangers, widows and orphans. In the second reading, St. Paul demands that we copy the Thessalonians by being examples of faith, hope and love in our the world. The gospel reading presents us with Christ’s message of vertical and horizontal dimensions of love. Therein Jesus states: “You must 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 which we are urged to embrace.
Introduction
Friends in Christ, today the Church invites us to take some lessons in love. Our liturgy challenges us to reflect on our ultimate destiny. The Penny Catechism reveals that God the Father created the world, God the Son redeemed the world and God the Holy Spirit sanctifies the world. Our homily invites us to “Love God & Neighbour” as it is titled.
Background and Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Ex 22:20-26) urges us to be kind and considerate to strangers, widows and orphans because God hear their cries to the heavens for vengeance. The reading challenges us on demands of practical religion.
In the second reading (1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10), St. Paul demands that we copy the Thessalonians by being examples of faith, hope and love in our world.
The gospel reading (Matthew 22:34-40) presents us with Christ’s message of vertical and horizontal dimensions of love. In fact he said: “You must 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 resembles it: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” He further stressed that: “On these two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets also.”
Various Types of Love
a). Philia: Philia is the love which exists between parents and their children, children with their parents and kids with their siblings. This stems from the natural bond that exists in a family. As a family word, philia is the brotherly or sisterly affection which unites us with one another in a unique way (Rom 12:10).
b). Eros: Erotic love stems from concupiscence of the flesh which St. Thomas Aquinas identifies in his Summa Theologica as one of the causes of sin. Aquinas makes the point that we are induced to sin through inordinate desires - The lust of the flesh includes sexual permissiveness and vain desires. The devil excites within us the concupiscence of the flesh so as to commit sin. The “lust of the flesh,” appears in two more significant passages of Scripture - the temptation of Eve in the Garden (Gen 3:1-6) and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:8-10). St. Paul warns us to “cast off the works of darkness” (Rom 13:12) and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Paul’s warning that we should shun concupiscence of the flesh is timely.
c). Agape: This is the love of God. It is often sacrificial. As the purest love, agape is the kind of love that Christ demonstrated by the manner of life, death on the cross and his resurrection. All that Christ asks of us is: “Love one another, just as I have loved you.” (Jn.15:12). Little wonder on several occasions, Jesus would “took pity on his people” and satisfy their hunger (Matthew 14:13-21).
Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of Love
a). Vertical Dimension of Love: Loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds translates into the vertical dimension of love. This also relates to agape which we spoke about earlier. It is crucial for us to understand that it is in him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). As such, as individuals and members of the Church, we must not let anything like death, life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth and anything else in creation, come between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:35-39).
b). Horizontal Dimension of Love: Philial love fulfills the demands of the love of nieghbour which our liturgy challenges us to embrace. The popular parable of the Good Samaritan discloses to us who our nieghbour is – Rather than get stuck on the lethal radar of erotic love, we are challenged to demonstrate real and active love to our family and friends as well as our foes. In Amoris Laetitia or The Joy of Love - Pope Francis’ is Apostolic Exhortation on the beauty, joy and love of marriage and the family, the Holy Father reminds us that God is throwing an open invitation to us to develop an unwavering capacity for love because our world is hungry for love, joy, peace, justice, spirituality, sincerity, fidelity and moral upliftment.
Appropriate Moving Narrative
I came across another touching story which speaks to the heart of our liturgy. A graduate has been seeking for job, for almost fifteen good years. No means to get money. Then one day she had only but one dollar with her, she entered in a restaurant and bought food with that money but just after she finished paying for the food three people came in looking so skinny and hungry. They asked her for the food, she had compassion on them and gave them the food.They wanted to pray for her but she told them that they need the prayer more than her. She left them and when she was about to leave they gave her an old coin. She went and lay down under the bridge to sleep, she saw newspaper and picked it and when she was reading it, there was an advertisement about an old coin that got lost in 1955. Anybody that brings it was to be paid 10 million dollars.
As soon as she saw it she checked the coin and it was the same. Then she rushed down to the address and they confirmed it and issued her with a cheque of 10 million dollars. She rushed back to that restaurant to see those three men but she didn't find them. When she asked the waiters, they gave her a letter that the old men left behind and she opened it, and this is what was written: “This is the God of the Father, the God of Son and the God of the Holy spirit. No one who praises God shall be left to suffer. That person, his or her children and grandchildren shall live happy under the umbrella of God.”
Pastoral Lessons
1. Do Not Oppress Strangers, Widows and Orphans: The first reading warns us not to oppress strangers, widows and orphans noting that if we oppress them and they cry to God, His anger would flare upon us because he is their defender. This means that no one who fights God ever lives or wins.
2. Care Truly: Our liturgy and narrative reveals that the world would be a wonderful place if we truly care for one another. There is enough for everybody’s need but there isn’t enough for everybody’s greed.
3. Know God, Love Him and Serve Him: It goes further to stress that God created us to know him, love him, serve him in this world and be happy with him in the next. Since God is love and our ultimate destiny is God, it means that at the end of time, love would conquer all.
4. Take to Faith and Love: In a country where palliatives that are meant for the poor are not distributed, our lead story reminds us that love and generosity are conjoined-twins – you cannot have one without the other. They reveal the depth of faith and works. How can we claim to love God who is unseen yet be brutal to our neighbour? (1 John 4:20).
5. Practice Vertical and Horizontal Love: Our reflection touches on the various types of love and the vertical and horizontal dimensions of love. It urges us to take to vertical and horizontal love dimensions of love as a necessary requirement for pleasing God.
Summary Lines
1. The first reading urges us to be kind and considerate to strangers, widows and orphans.2. In the second, St. Paul demands that we copy the Thessalonians by being examples of faith, hope and love in our world.
3. The gospel reading presents us with Christ’s message of vertical and horizontal dimensions of love.
4. In fact he said: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
5. This is the greatest and the first commandment.
