Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A

First Reading - Exodus 22:20-26

Responsorial - Psalm 18:2-31

Second Reading - 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

Alleluia Verse - John 14:23

Gospel - Matthew 22:34-40

If a person could only read one passage from the entire bible today’s gospel would be that passage. It is the very purpose for which we have been given life. We are to love God with perfect, sacrificial love. He is to come first in our lives. He is more important than our spouses. He is more important than our children. He is even more important than our own lives. When we receive him in the Eucharist, we take an oath to the death that we will live our lives for him and die for him if necessary. This is the proper place for our God; first above all else.

But Jesus goes on in this gospel to tell us that we are to love each other with the same love we have for God. We were created to be in relationship with one another. We are to love each other with sacrificial love. Suffering is the currency of love and you only love another in as much as you are willing to suffer for them. Suffering is tolerable when we do it for a loved one like a spouse or a child. Suffering becomes a whole lot harder when we are asked to do it for a stranger, or worse, someone we don’t really like. But if we are to love God, we are to love each other in the same way.

Sacrificial love is what allowed Christ to mount the wood of the cross and endure his crucifixion. The crucifixion is the single greatest act of love the world will ever know. Mass allows us to participate in this act of love by offering our own sufferings to it. As the gifts for the Mass are brought to the altar, place all of your suffering, trials, worries, intentions, and things you are thankful for spiritually with those gifts. As heaven touches earth, angels will take our offering up to God where he will bless them and send them back to us as grace. Suffering is the currency of love and love is never wasted by God.

Jesus said that the entire law and the prophets depend on these two commandments. The law was given to the Israelites to set them apart from the rest of the world and to teach them how to live in right relationship with God and each other. They were meant to be the light on the lampstand for the world to see and to be drawn to. But instead of using the law as a guide on how to live, they made it a burden impossible to follow. Jesus is the law incarnate, the law made flesh. He came to show us how to live the law properly. Jesus fulfilled the law by living the commandments with sacrificial love. The Israelites did the minimum to follow the law. Jesus followed the law to its fullest extent.

For example; The law says that you shall not murder. The minimum you have to do to follow this law is to not unjustly kill another person. Living this law with sacrificial love means that you are willing to give up your own life for the good of another. We have fallen into the same trap as the Israelites. We look for the minimum we can do and get by. Does the wedding Mass I attend at 2:00pm on Saturday count for my Sunday obligation? If we are living life with the love we are commanded to have, we will always ask what more can be done. What else can I do to show the love that I have? When it comes to love, the minimum is never enough. Love God with your entire being, making him first in your lives. Then love each other in the same way, putting your own importance aside to serve one another with sacrificial love. 

Evangelizing Worldwide

© 2025. All rights reserved.

Contact Me