Impelled by LOVE

HOMILY: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 22:34-40

29 October 2023

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

It is very difficult to speak about love when there is war in various parts of the world. Supposedly there are rules of war that protect civilians, but often these rules are broken.  The 1949 Geneva Convention determined what can and cannot be done during armed conflict. The rules say civilians cannot be targets and should be allowed to safely flee, and yet rockets have hit apartment buildings with residents still inside and there is nowhere for people to go because all the border crossings are blocked. Humanitarian organisations must be allowed to bring food, water, shelter and medicines and yet one of the tactics used is to cut off power and water supply. It is very important that we continue to pray for peace and an end to these wars.  All these humanitarian rules cannot really save the innocent from suffering. 

Rules and regulations are not the bedrock of our Christian Faith. Our compliance to religious laws and regulations does not guarantee that we are following in the footsteps of Christ.  We can be so scrupulous in our observance of religious rules and laws that we evaluate our actions on the basis of guilt feelings. If we have sinned, we are more concerned to ask: “Is it a mortal sin or ‘only’ a venial sin?” As Christians, these are not the questions to ask. Our real concern should rather be: “Is this a loving thing to do?” If it is not a word or an act motivated by love, then it is not Christian at all. A person can attend mass and receive the sacraments regularly and yet be unkind to one’s own children or “house-help”. When other people see this in us, they call us hypocrites and are discouraged from coming to church. It is possible to keep all the laws and rules perfectly and yet be very far from the spirit of Jesus and the Gospel. 

In the gospel reading this Sunday, a scholar of the law tests Jesus by asking Him to identify the greatest commandment from among the over 600 laws of the rabbinical tradition. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:36) As it was the case last Sunday, this question was meant as a trap for Jesus. Had Jesus selected one among the over 600 laws, they would have easily argued their way into making Jesus appear, heretical or blasphemous.  Jesus, however, seeing through their intentions, responds by going to the very heart of the matter. Jesus answered by highlighting the LOVE commandment — the love of God and the love of neighbour. Jesus points to this one law which touches the core of every person’s relationship with God. This law written in the hearts of all believers sums up what the other laws are trying to say. The first commandment is lifted from the Book of Deuteronomy 6:5, known as the Shema, which is committed to heart and recited morning and evening by every devout Jew. The second one is a citation from Leviticus 19:18, which is an injunction to love one’s neighbour as oneself.  

The two commandments are inseparable and interrelated. The profound synthesis of these two commandments points out that to love God would mean we ought to love our neighbours as well. In short, love of neighbour is the fruit of one’s love for God. In his letter, St. John writes: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20)

I chanced upon this post on Facebook which reads… “If your religion requires you to hate someone, you need a new religion.” It is sad because it can be said that one of the reasons for the conflict in the Middle East is rooted in the long-standing enmity between the two religions, Muslims and Jews. As I mentioned earlier, it is difficult to speak of love in a time of war because what prevails are feelings of hatred and anger. It is difficult to reconcile love with having to kill another human being out of revenge or retaliation. The First Reading shows the Israelites how they must demonstrate love and obedience to God. They are reminded to be kind to widows, orphans, and the poor, and to treat aliens and captives with charity and compassion, citing they too were once aliens in Egypt. I honestly do not know how this is being done especially in times of war. For us, this is a reminder to be charitable especially to the weak. Let’s not take advantage and deceive our neighbours, especially the needy. Do we still remember the golden rule? “Do unto others, what you would want them to do to you.” (Matthew 7:12)

Tomorrow, we will be having our Barangay Elections. This is a chance for us to show we love our community. Let us vote because we care about our family, neighbours, and friends in this area. We have the chance to choose people who will be our local leaders — people who will ensure our community is safe, peaceful and that it gets the care and service offered by our government. Let us vote! Before going to the mall, watching movies, or playing video games all day, we head to the precincts to vote. Let us carefully discern whether our candidates have fear of God and show genuine concern for others. Let us choose those who can serve as role models for the youth and our community. Let us choose people who truly love and care for the community.

Brothers and sisters, let us all be lovers! The simplest rule is to love those in our home, workplace, school, church and community.  Let us pray that we may be so taken up by The love of God to become more loving not solely to ourselves but towards one another. This way we will be known as Christians not only in word but also in deed! Let us consistently pray for peace in the world and hope that love will dispel the hatred and suffering of war in our midst.