"To the degree possible," we read in the part of the Introduction to the Lectionary that discusses the readings for Sundays in Ordinary Time, the Old Testament "readings were chosen in such a way that they would be short and easy to grasp" (Introduction to the Lectionary, sec. 105, 2). Care was also taken to ensure that "texts of major significance" are read on Sundays (Ibid.). These readings, it is further disclosed, "are distributed not according to a logical order but based on what the Gospel reading requires" (Ibid.- italics are mine).
So, unlike Paul's major letters or the Gospels themselves, which are read in a semi-continuous way on Sundays in Ordinary Time, the Old Testament reading is harmonized with the Gospel reading. And so, looking at the past month, including this Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, our readings from the Old Testament in reverse chronological order have been from Exodus, Isaiah (this book is drawn upon heavily in the Sunday lectionary), Isaiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel. Even the consecutive weeks of reading from Isaiah we do not do so in a semi-continuous way: Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah 25:6-10a, and Isaiah 45:4-6.
My point with the above is to point out the relationship and even the correlation between the Old Testament reading and the Gospel during Sundays in Ordinary Time. In addition to the readings from Sacred Scripture, Sunday Masses during Ordinary Time, regardless of whether the Church is observing Year A, B, or C of the lectionary, have a major theme or focus.
If you take the time to examine the readings for all three years of the Sunday lectionary for particular Sundays, you will find they cohere across years. One the reasons we call Matthew, Mark, and Luke, when considered together, the "Synoptic Gospels" is because they present something of a common view of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This major theme or focus is placed into discernible relief by the Collect, the Prayer over the Gifts, and the Prayer after Communion. Of course, the Prayers of the Faithful, in which we always pray for the Church, the world, those in need, those who are sick, and those who have died, should also pick-up on these themes.
Clearly, the major theme of the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time is loving God with your entire being and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. Stated more coherently: loving God with your entire being by loving your neighbor as you love yourself. So, in the Collect we ask God to "increase our faith, hope and charity, and make us love what you command" (Roman Missal, Ordinary Time on Sundays and Weekdays, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time).
What God commands is summarized in the two commandments of love, which can be viewed as one command. In the Prayer over the Offerings, we ask God to look favorably on the offerings we make to the divine majesty (the bread and wine along with the collection symbolize the offering of ourselves to God through Christ by the Spirit's power) so that "whatever is done by us in your [God's] service may be directed to above all to your [God's] glory" (Ibid.). In the Prayer after Communion, we pray that the sacraments "perfect what lies in them" (and now in us) that what we now celebrate symbolically may one day realized more completely (Ibid.).
And so, at long last, we come to the readings for this Sunday, particularly the Gospel and its corresponding reading from the Book of Exodus. Since the primary but by no means the only way I love God with my whole self is by loving others as I love myself, it is important to be clear about what this means, practically speaking.
When it comes to loving my neighbor, the obvious question is: "Who is my neighbor." In answer to just that query, the inspired author of Luke's Gospel included the Parable of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37). This parable remains instructive by telling us that my neighbor is the person I encounter who needs my help, even when, perhaps especially when, that person doesn't belong to my tribe, my nation, my religion, my parish, etc. In other words, my neighbor may well be a stranger, a foreigner.
As to foreigners, our reading from Exodus supplies "what the Gospel reading requires" (Introduction to the Lectionary, sec. 105, 2). What does the Gospel require? A specific focus. The specific focus supplied by our reading from Exodus, is that what it means to love God with my whole being by loving my neighbor as I love myself is to look after (i.e., treat humanely) "aliens" or foreigners, not wrong widows and orphans, who were vulnerable in a society without what we might call a "social safety net," and not to exploit (i.e., take advantage of) the poor. Therefore, any practices or policies that ignore what the word of God enjoins on us are to be eschewed and rejected. You can see by the warnings that these things are very important to God.
To reinforce how important these precepts are to God and since we're reading from Matthew's Gospel during this liturgical year, let's not forget Matthew 25. In this chapter, Jesus gives us the criteria of the final judgment, which are basically the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned (see Matthew 25:34-46)
Elsewhere in the New Testament, our uniquely Christian scriptures, we read:
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:20-21)Another important observation is that worship that does lead to service is not Christian worship.
It is the job of the preacher to effectively communicate what the scriptures enjoin us to do. Therefore, when this is done faithfully, no one should dismiss such exhortations as "liberal rhetoric" or as "being political." The message conveyed by the readings should be proclaimed in season and out. As Christians, it is crucial that we look at politics through the lens of the Gospel and not the other way around.
Yes, not only immigration but how we treat immigrants, be they refugees or those who are simply seeking better lives for themselves and their families, is a matter of contemporary political concern not only in the U.S. but throughout the developed world. This touches on issues of economic justice as well as war and peace. As people who claim to be Jesus's disciples, we need to let ourselves be challenged and even provoked by the Scriptures. Leaders come and go. Nations come and go. The word of God stands forever.
There is a fairly old saying repeated among many preachers: comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. This strikes me as a pretty good summary of our Lord's approach and method.
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