Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
26 OCT 2014
Lectionary: 148

Reading 1 EX 22:20-26

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.


(St. Paul, Etienne Parrocel, (1696-1775.)

Reading 2 1 THES 1:5C-10

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.


(oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator, 500 A.D.)

Gospel MT 22:34-40

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."



Overview of the Gospel:

• This Sunday’s Gospel reading finds Jesus again in Jerusalem during the week before his death.
Between the time of last Sunday’s Gospel and this, he has just finished silencing the members of the
religious group, the Sadducees, regarding a question about the Resurrection, a doctrine they did not
believe in (Matthew 22:23-33).

• An opposing religious party, the Pharisees, who considered Jesus a breaker of the Jewish Law (see
Matthew 12:1-8, 9-14), now pose to him a question that was commonly asked all teachers of the
Law: Which commandment—out of the possible 613 recognized precepts of the Law formulated by
the rabbis—is the greatest?

• Jesus answers them—not out of the 613 precepts—but out of two of the Mosaic books of the Law
(Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18), the first part of which is found in the shema, recited daily by
faithful Jews (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

• For Jesus, love (charity) is the greatest theological law (Matthew 19:19; Romans 13:8-10; 1
Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8; CCC §§ 1822-1824). The Gospel requires “faith
(Deuteronomy 6:5) working though love (Leviticus 19:18)” (Galatians 5:6).

Questions:

• In the 1st Reading, we hear from a section of the Book of Exodus where God is giving instruction to
his people regarding their conduct among themselves. Specific prescriptions aside, what seems to
be the overall attitude that God expects us to have toward our neighbor?

• In the 2nd Reading, Saint Paul reminds the Thessalonians how much they have grown in their faith
by imitating his example. What are some of the ways their faith has become evident? How much do
you strive to imitate Jesus and the Saints?

• In the Gospel Reading, why do you suppose Jesus declares these two commandments the
greatest? How would you say the Ten Commandments relate to these two?

• What does Jesus’ response to the scribe teach you about Jesus? About the kingdom of God (see 1
John 2:7-11)?

• Why do you think Jesus emphasized loving God with our heart, soul, and mind? How is loving God
related to loving people (1 John 4:20-21)?

• What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? How do you love your self? How does that
apply to the way you love your neighbor (Matthew 7:12; Ephesians 5:29)?
courtesy Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics

Bible Study--30th Sunday in Ordinary Time--Cycle A
courtesy of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Picayune, MS, Faith Studies


(Jesus and Pharisees, Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678)

Thanks BeNotAfraid.