30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Ex 22:20-26
Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
1 Thes 1:5c-10
Mt 22:34-40
Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In my inner-city parish, people come to us daily for help with rent, food, medical needs. I’m not a social worker, and so I’m grateful for the knowledgeable people on our team who can find the help people need. But when I read today’s first reading, a portion of the Mosaic Law taken from the Book of Exodus, I do get some basic instructions for some practical things I can do to help.
God tells me there that my conduct toward people who are vulnerable because of any human need must be tempered by recalling my own human condition. The people of Israel, the law says, should remember they were once strangers in Egypt; and so the stranger on their doorsteps ought to receive respect and care. God has been good to me in my times of real need; and now God may be asking me to do the same for someone.
Later in the passage, there’s a very practical instruction about returning a man’s cloak to him for the night, even though you’ve demanded it as a loan guarantee. That instruction tells me that any relationship I have with the poor must honor people’s God-given dignity. Thanks to that instruction, I look into a person’s eyes on the soup kitchen line, and try to communicate our shared relationship in the Lord. God’s law is full of the compassion of God—and that’s the first thing I can share with my fellow human being.
Scripture:
•If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate. (Exodus 22:26)
•The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! (Psalm 18:47)
•…but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:8)
•…with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)
Reflection:
•Can you say to God, “blessed be my rock”?
•In what ways is your faith in God tested?
•How do you love God?
In the midst of multiple activities of the day, you should stay free of multiplicity and preserve oneness of spirit within yourself. Let your mind form an idea of God and His supreme majesty and goodness. Keep his lovable presence before your mind’s eye. (Louis De Blois)
Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
1 Thes 1:5c-10
Mt 22:34-40
Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In my inner-city parish, people come to us daily for help with rent, food, medical needs. I’m not a social worker, and so I’m grateful for the knowledgeable people on our team who can find the help people need. But when I read today’s first reading, a portion of the Mosaic Law taken from the Book of Exodus, I do get some basic instructions for some practical things I can do to help.
God tells me there that my conduct toward people who are vulnerable because of any human need must be tempered by recalling my own human condition. The people of Israel, the law says, should remember they were once strangers in Egypt; and so the stranger on their doorsteps ought to receive respect and care. God has been good to me in my times of real need; and now God may be asking me to do the same for someone.
Later in the passage, there’s a very practical instruction about returning a man’s cloak to him for the night, even though you’ve demanded it as a loan guarantee. That instruction tells me that any relationship I have with the poor must honor people’s God-given dignity. Thanks to that instruction, I look into a person’s eyes on the soup kitchen line, and try to communicate our shared relationship in the Lord. God’s law is full of the compassion of God—and that’s the first thing I can share with my fellow human being.
Scripture:
•If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate. (Exodus 22:26)
•The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock! (Psalm 18:47)
•…but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:8)
•…with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)
Reflection:
•Can you say to God, “blessed be my rock”?
•In what ways is your faith in God tested?
•How do you love God?
In the midst of multiple activities of the day, you should stay free of multiplicity and preserve oneness of spirit within yourself. Let your mind form an idea of God and His supreme majesty and goodness. Keep his lovable presence before your mind’s eye. (Louis De Blois)
posted by See Tho Zhang Jacob at
11:35 PM
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