Love God and Neighbor
Discipleship Questions for
Sunday October 26, 2008
Scripture Readings:
First Reading: Exodus 22:20-26
Psalm Reading: Psalm 18
Second Reading: 1Thessalonians 1:5-10
Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40
First Reading Ex 22:20-26
A reading from the Book of Exodus
If you wrong the widow and the orphan, my wrath will flare up against you.
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.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
(R.) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
(R.) I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
(R.) I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
(R.) I love you, Lord, my strength.
Second Reading 1 Thes 1:5c-10
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians
You turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven.
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.
Gospel Mt 22:34-40
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.
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.”
Discipleship Questions:
1. You may remember that last week the Saducees and Herodians had tried to embarrass Jesus by asking about paying taxes to the Romans and Jesus had handily defeated them with the sublimely brilliant retort: “Render unto Caesar that which Is Caesars and unto God that which is God’s.” Well now the Pharisees take a shot at him by asking the age old question: “Which is the greatest commandment? Now it’s interesting to note that there were 613 commandments, 365 prohibitions – one for each day of the year, and 268 prescriptions – one for each bone in the body. Jesus’ response not only established Him as the quintessential teacher of His day but He, God incarnate, gave the world God’s ultimate moral rule. If we can get this one right we get them all right. Listen to it once more: “You shall love the Lord, you 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.” So we are first to love God with everything we have – our heart, soul and mind. This, by the way, is what a human being is made up of - our hearts, our souls and our minds. And the second part of that commandment is that we must love others as we love ourselves – with all of us – with our hearts, with our souls and with our minds. Now this is a very tall order don’t you think but it’s what Jesus did. Truly He loved God with all of His heart, soul and mind and He also loved the world in the same way. Do you know anyone who loves like this? Please discuss.
2. Read the following Scripture and examine your capacity to love against the standard set by the Scripture: 1Cor. 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn[‘t envy, it doesn’t boast, it’s not proud. 5 It’s not rude, it’s not self-seeking, it’s not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails!
3. Is there anyone whom you need to reconcile with? If so, our Lord would encourage you to love them enough to seek reconciliation. Decide today to do that.
4. May I encourage you to pray that your capacity for love would grow and grow and grow – never stop growing. Amen and Amen.