Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 31, 2021
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 152
Reading I
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
Responsorial Psalm
- (2) 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.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Reflection: LOVING GOD IN OTHERS
God tells us that we are created to love Him in loving others and to love others in loving Him. We are called to love God present in others. The first reading presents Moses trying to make the people accept the Law as something that will bring them dignity and purpose, stature and distinction and a unique place in history. He reminds us to love God by keeping His commandments. The second reading tells us how Jesus, offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross to demonstrate God's love for us. In today's Gospel a scribe asks Jesus to summarize the Mosaic Laws in one sentence. Jesus answers him combining Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18. This is Jesus' unique contribution combining the originally separate commandments and presenting them as the essence of a true religion: loving God and loving our fellow human beings. John says 'God is love'. The Ten Commandments are based on the principle of love because God is love. “Love”, has two dimensions: the vertical dimension: 'love of God' (Mt 5:48) and the horizontal dimension: 'love/compassion for our neighbours' (Lk 6:36). Hence, the first three Commandments instruct us to love God, and the remaining seven Commandments ask us to love our brothers and sisters. The command to love our neighbour as we love ourselves is a very demanding one. 'Anyone who loves creates neighbours'. He tells us, "Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus' love for me becomes the new norm for our love of neighbour. The new standard is no longer subjective, but objective. We are called to have an inclusive love for our neighbours by offering our help, support, encouragement, forgiveness, and praying for everyone. Our love for God is manifest in our love for our brothers and sisters – a selfless love for which Jesus is our example. It is easy for us to love someone who is far away because it does not cost us much. But loving our neighbour next door is often very troubling and difficult. We hesitate a lot to take the first step. But our Master has no problem to do that. He is often found with the weak, sinners, marginalised and oppressed. This is the choice we need to make today.