Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jan 30 2025

Hear the Law of the Lord

As a boy I learned the Ten Commandments, the six precepts of the Church, the seven sacraments, the seven gifts and twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit. Having memorized these, I felt a sense of accomplishment. But can you imagine having to memorize the 613 laws found in the Torah? The Torah was the foundation of the covenant God made with the people of Israel.

If you go on line and do a search for “613 commandments,” you will find them listed, along with a reference to the particular biblical book where each can be found. Some listings place the laws under various categories, such as God, Prayers and Blessings, Love and Brotherhood, the Poor and Unfortunate. The largest list relates to Sacrifices and Offerings—over one hundred of them.

When the scribe asked Jesus what was the first of all the commandments, he was asking a question most important to any devout Jew. Jesus looked within his own heart before giving his answer: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:4–5) and love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18).

His answer came from his heart, recognized in the Jewish tradition as the center of the human person, the seat of all thought, choice, value, and feeling. Moses’ words to the people in today’s first reading still stand: “Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today” (Deuteronomy 6:1).

Consider/Discuss

What is the value of having a law to live by?
Take time to read the 613 commandments, and consider how love is at the heart of the law of the first covenant. Then, read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) for the same lesson.

Responding to the Word

Loving God, we thank you for the gift of your law that has been revealed in the teachings of Moses and of Jesus Christ. It offers us guidance and light for our lives. Your Holy Spirit continues to enlighten our way. May we be attentive to the direction that is offered.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

The most significant prayer of Israel’s religion is found in Deuteronomy. It is a profession of faith in the one God to whom Israel owes exclusive and undivided commitment and worship. This is the God who drew the people out of Egyptian bondage, led them through the perils of the wilderness, and brought them into the land of promise. This is also the God within whom all the attributes of deity can be found. It is not a divided deity whose various characteristics are worshiped at various shrines. This profession of faith is found within a summons to obedience.

The tradition that surrounded the enigmatic Melchizedek has been reinterpreted in order to typify particular aspects of Jesus’ divine nature. First, his priesthood is permanent, enabling him to intercede without interruption, while the Levitical priests were all subject to death. Jesus’ holiness is the second characteristic that distinguishes his priesthood from the other. He did not have to atone for his own sins, as the Levitical priests did. Finally, his priesthood is not traced back to the religious institution founded on Aaron. Rather, Jesus is identified with Melchizedek, whose priesthood was grounded in eternity and established by a divine oath.

By the time of Jesus, there were 613 commandments surrounding the official biblical law. Although all laws were considered binding, some were regarded more important than others. When questioned about the “first” law, Jesus endorses the summons that constitutes the Shema, the most significant prayer of Israel’s faith. To the injunction to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4–5), he adds the injunction to “love your neighbor as yourself” (cf. Leviticus 19:18). He insists that the second is like the first. The scribe, who is schooled in the religious tradition, recognizes Jesus’ response as both accurate and profound. He calls him Teacher, a title that has special significance coming from one who was himself an official interpreter of the law.

Jan 16 2025

Be Good News

A friend told me she had been the last in her family to stop going to Mass on Sundays. Her siblings had long since given it up. The reasons had a great deal to do with the quality of church leadership they experienced. Too much outward show of authority, too little indication of inner sanctity. Dispensing official teaching is not enough; living humbly and as a servant is the heart of ministry. The harsh words of the prophet Malachi seem more relevant than ever in our day. When we priests fail to walk in the way of Christ, fail to give glory to God’s name by what we do, we become unworthy of our calling to serve God’s people. Of course, this kind of behavior is not limited to clergy. Jesus is speaking to the crowds and disciples about the Pharisees, the lay leaders who saw themselves as “separate” from the rest because of their outward signs of piety. He also calls them to authentic lives.

“The greatest among you must be your servant,” Jesus says, a message he repeats again and again in the Gospels. His followers are as resistant to it now as they were then. But the faithful follower is not about titles, or ecclesiastical dress up, or posturing in self-importance. Discipleship in the kingdom that Jesus came preaching is about being brothers and sisters who gather around Jesus Christ, the one Master, who humbled himself and waited for God to exalt him. May the same goal be ours.

Consider/Discuss

What is your experience of those called to shepherd God’s people?
Do you pray for your priests, your bishops, the Holy Father?
Is humility a practical virtue in our world today?

Responding to the Word

We pray for all who hold positions of leadership and authority in the Church, that they not only speak but embody the gospel in their lives. We can ask God to raise up more men and women who will instruct by example and words and who will walk humbly in the way of the Lord.

Jan 16 2025

Scripture Study for

Malachi denounces the priests of Israel who have not only defiled their office but have also led the people astray with their faulty teaching. The honor given God’s name by the nations is in sharp contrast with the dishonor accorded it by the priests. The command given the priests includes a threat of the punishment that will be exacted if is not followed. The reading does not tell us whether or not the priests took this condemnation to heart. For us it serves as a reminder that privileged positions within the community bring with them serious responsibilities. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities will meet with drastic consequences.

The metaphor of the nursing mother characterizes the deep affection Paul has for his converts. This image also effectively exemplifies apostolic self-giving. Both the mother and the missionary spend themselves with no thought of receiving anything in return other than the satisfaction of having given themselves out of love. Paul and his companions were within their rights to expect hospitality from their converts. However, they chose to forgo this prerogative. Instead, they proclaimed the gospel as they saw fit, asking for nothing in return. The recompense they receive for their ministry is the religious maturity of their converts, and for this they are grateful to God.

Jesus issues a scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. While he recognizes the authenticity of their office, he criticizes them for the obvious disparity between what they teach and how they live. He criticizes their method of interpreting the law and their love of praise. In their zeal to honor the law, they placed heavy burdens on the people, and they did nothing to alleviate their weight. Furthermore, they used outward displays of devotion to garner deferential treatment. Jesus insists that such pomposity has no place among his followers. He warns that those who exalt themselves now will experience ultimate humiliation; those who humble themselves now will enjoy ultimate exaltation.

Jan 06 2025

Ripe for the Picking

The universal love and providence of the Creator are celebrated in this most unusual reading. Unlike earlier traditions that envision creation as a kind of reordering of cosmic debris after the primordial battle, this passage depicts a Creator who is personally involved with every dimension of the natural world. We find here the same cosmic power, but it is coupled with love and mercy. Just as the power of the Creator is matched by the love of the Creator, so is this love manifested through mercy. God is merciful precisely because God is powerful. Finally, the author claims that the imperishable spirit of God is in all things.

Paul assures his people that though he has been the minister of the word, it is God who called them, and it is Paul’s prayer that they remain worthy of that calling. He states that though they are obliged to live ethical lives, it is the prior grace of God and not the ethical behavior that saves them. He further teaches an “already-but-not-yet” form of eschatology (teachings about the end-times). Though the eschatological day of the Lord is imminent, it is not yet present. Believers must continue to live their lives in patient anticipation of Christ’s coming, realizing that they do so in his presence, for he has already come. The story of Zacchaeus demonstrates Jesus’ mission to seek and to save what is lost. Not only did Zacchaeus belong to the hated class of tax collectors, he was chief among them. This means that he probably benefitted both from the taxes paid and from the fees that tax collectors themselves exacted from the people. The narrative draws bold lines of contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward this man and the scorn of some of the bystanders. Jesus insisted that only those who are lost can be found; only those who are perishing can be saved. Those who revere themselves as righteous seldom understand this, and as a result, miss opportunities for their own salvation.