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30th Sunday after Pentecost
Word of Explanation :
Jesus answer to the learned man who questions him comes in three parts : The first is the love of God that Jesus cites from the "Shema Israël" ("Hear, O Israël", Dt 6, 4-9) recited morning and evening by the practicing Jew ; it is a confession of faith. The second precept, which is similar, is the love of neighbor, according to a formula in the Law of Holiness (Lev 17, 26). Finally, Jesus declares that the two are a synthesis of the Law and the Prophets ; that is to say, of the whole of biblical revelation. Given the multiplicity of prescriptions, the Pharisee’s question is to know what is the fundamental principle. Jesus’ answer links the love of God to the love of neighbor. Obedience to this double command places one in conformity with biblical revelation. .
Meditation :
Jesus was acclaimed by the crowd when he entered Jerusalem. At the same time, however, opposition continued to grow and the controversies came one after the other with their questions set to trap Jesus : the tax owed to Ceasar from the Pharisees and Herodians ; the resurrection of the dead from the Sadduccees : the greatest commandment from a Pharisee lawyer. All these polemics serve to show Jesus’ independence from the various religious movements of his time.
It is a learned man, one whose learning gives him power over others, who poses the last question intended to test Jesus. His answer shows that Jesus knows the Scriptures. His originality is to link the precepts concerning the love of God and the love of neighbor. The one who loves God should, for that very reason, love his neighbor. The one who is attached to God with his whole being desires to resemble God and aspires to adopt his ways of being and doing.
The first reading shows God’s compassion for the foreigner, the orphan, the widow and the poor. This is the population in the society that is threatened and without defense. They don’t have power and don’t know how to make their rights recognized. It’s easy to abuse and take advantage of them ! When he simplifies the Law and makes it more radical by affirming that it is fulfilled by love, Jesus makes himself vulnerable. Before language that sets out to trick him, Jesus refuses to enter into discussion in an attempt to win and dominate. In his very person, love of God and love of neighbor find their substance. And, because love is not only vulnerable but also does not attempt to defend itself, Jesus makes each one consult, before God, his own liberty concerning this double principle.
Lord, you teach us who the neighbor is who should have our attention : the one who is little, defenseless and easily victim to another’s power ... Teach us to love the way you do, give us the courage to renounce the use of power that dominates - even the one that has the appearance of good and of service but is just a way of seeking our own satisfaction.
Remonter