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30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is remarkable that the text from the Book of Exodus is just as pertinent today as it was centuries ago. The warning goes out. Do not molest or oppress the alien in your community. Do no wrong to the widow and orphan, i.e. vulnerable people. Do not lend money pretending that you are helping and then expect to gain a profit. Don’t be stealing from people who are less well off than you. The thing is, that kind of thing goes on all the time today. Remember Hurricane Harvey. People complained because Hotel prices went up. The cost of gas went up. The cost of drinking water went up. They call it price gouging. Shame on those people making their quick buck. So often, one person’s misfortune is another person’s opportunity. The sad thing to say is that we don’t actually learn from history because we keep doing the thing. Remember that man who bought the rights to the AIDS drugs. Then he upped the price to extortion level so that nobody could afford them. Where is your compassion guy!? The gospel tells us about another one who wants to test Jesus. Clearly many people wanted to test Jesus. We just don’t hear about them all. I understand philosophical debate. But I also understand it when someone is out to get you no matter what. There is no love in the conversation. I find that sometimes with my Republican and Democratic friends. It is impossible to have an impartial political discussion because everyone wants to score points for their team. People seem to find it hard to disengage from their side and just have a conversation that is not about scoring points. “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” If the man is out to test Jesus I guess he wants Jesus to give the wrong answer. Altogether there were over 600 laws of Moses. It must be hard to pinpoint the greatest one. Jesus said love the Lord your God and then love your neighbor as yourself. I guess that is as good an answer as anyone. Jesus said the whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments. So what about that? Love the Lord your God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as yourself. It is not about degree or quantity or measure. Just do it.
With love, Fr. Pat