30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

 

October 25, 2020

Readings:

First Reading: Exodus 22: 20-26

Psalm 18 “I love you, Lord, my strength.”

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1: 5c-10

Gospel reading according to Matthew 22: 34-40

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Homily:

Another influential group was silenced by Jesus, this time it was the Sadducees. “The Sadducees, according to Josephus, tell us, had the confidence of the wealthy, but no followers among the people.  The Sadducean party was composed of the high priests, the nobles, the most eminent citizens and the leading men.  Under the Roman rule, the Sanhedrin got a degree of political independence and authority that Herod had denied them.  Rome was also in a position to deprive land-owners of their property.  Therefore, it was in the interest of the Sadducees and the wealthy to cooperate with Rome.  One example is when the chief priests helped to quell Judas’ revolt against the taxes in 6 A.D.  So the local collaborators with Roman rule were the Sadducees, the wealthy, the land owners and tax collectors.  Between them, they controlled the government, agriculture, employment, and business” (FABC Office of Human Development, Jesus for our Times: Towards A Spirituality of Social Action, Rev. Vinay Kumar Samuel, “The Church in the World, Manila, Philippines, 1986, p. 77). 

With regards to religious practices and beliefs, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were in contradiction in many ways of their interpretation of their beliefs. One of these was the resurrection of the dead.  While the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees did not believe in it.  They have many religious beliefs they have disagreed with.  But, this time, they joined together, for they have found a common enemy, in the person of Jesus Christ.  “When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them a scholar of the law tested him by asking, ‵Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?′” (Matthew 22: 34-36).  The Sadducees this time were silenced by Jesus Christ.  And the Pharisees heard about it, so together, they joined in on how to capture and silence Jesus Christ.  Nonetheless, because of Jesus the Pharisees and the Sadducees became friends, and one, and joined in together on how to trap their common enemy. 

Another group, the elite, educated and learned of the leading enemy of Jesus was the scholars of the Law and the Prophets, known as scribes.  They also joined in the groups of Pharisees and Sadducees on how to trap Jesus in his word.

The scholar of the Law asked Jesus to test him on his knowledge of the Book of Law (Torah) and the Prophets. He asked, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”  Jesus, as true teacher and with full knowledge of the Book of Moses, the TaNaK, (Torah, the Prophets and History), gave the wonderful and time tested expression of one′s faith in God and to his neighbors (to our brothers and sisters – fraternity and social friendship (Fratelli Tutti)). “He said to him, ‵You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments′.” (Matthew 22: 37-40).  There is no other greatest law or commandment than to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: We shall love our neighbors as ourselves, for they are our brothers and sisters in one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  With this answer, the scholar of the Law and the Prophets was silenced by Jesus, and no one dared to ask him a question.