1ST READING
The Lord, through Moses, reminds us to be merciful to those who seek our assistance. The alien or refugee in our land has rights. These rights stem from our common humanity. We never know when we will be the one in need of their assistance. How can we expect help from others if we do not help those who ask it from us?
Exodus 22:20-26
20 Thus says the Lord: “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 21 You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. 22 If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. 23 My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans. 24 “If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. 25 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; 26 for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.”
P S A L M
Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R: I love you, Lord, my strength.
1 [2] I love you, O Lord, my strength, 2 [3] O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. (R) My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! 3 [4] Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. (R) 46 [47] The Lord lives and blessed be my Rock! Extolled be God my savior. 50 [51] You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed. (R)
2ND READING
Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to be model believers so that they can be examples for other communities. Let us reflect on what such an exhortation means to us. The world needs to see model Christian communities that provide an alternative to the self-centered consumerism of our age. We are called to be witnesses to the truth of life beyond the here and now. Let us give witness to the promise of heaven in the way we live now.
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
5 Brothers and sisters: You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
GOSPEL
There is always a danger with summaries especially when it involves the Law. You can become a slave to the letter of the Law on one hand, and have a wishy-washy interpretation of it on the other. Neither of these responses is adequate. Let us examine the basis of a particular law and see why it was created in the first place. All laws have their basis in an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of relationships. The summary indicates this by talking about God and our neighbor. Let us observe how our actions will affect our relationships and the communities to which we belong.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
Matthew 22:34-40
34 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them a scholar of the law tested him by asking, 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
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