I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've been paying attention to the readings at Mass lately. Yesterday one of the epistles began this way: "Do not mistreat or oppress an alien, for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 22:21). I know immigration is a complex issue, but there are too many in America that incite hatred toward our immigrants (legal and illegal). I keep thinking of many of our own ancestors, Irish and German, who got into our country by hook or by crook. We must treat these new neighbors with kindness and charity! It's a clear demand of scripture and human decency.
The Gospel reading, Mark 12:28-31, also had a stunning statement when Jesus responded to someone who asked him what the most important commandments were (trying to trap him):
28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[f] 31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g]There is no commandment greater than these."
There is almost nothing you can add to that: that is "the law and the prophets" wrapped into a brief and powerful utterance.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment