XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – October 25, 2020 God’s love: a profound and eternal mystery, but nothing complicated Readings: Exodus 22: 20-26 / Psalm 17 / I Thessalonians 1: 5-10 / Matthew 22: 34-40
When he would listen to his brother Dominicans, priests and seminarians, in the huge priory in the city center of Lima, Peru, talking at table about their studies of religious doctrine using grand philosophical and theological terms that were difficult to understand, Saint Martin de Porres would say to them, “Why do you speak about God using such complex ideas and lofty language when he is so good and merciful and tender with us?” Saint Martin did not think of denying the truths and divine mysteries of our faith, which are the concern of theology and often beyond our understanding. Rather, he sought to remind them that the most sublime language of God only has meaning in the measure that it fosters love of God and neighbor. In other words, the saint urged them to not make belief in God more complicated but to know him in his true essence – love – and to live and act by his mercy. Martin did not have the opportunity of advanced studies in holy doctrine but was deeply imbued with the love of Christ which deeply affected all the people he served and healed. In the time of Jesus and throughout our history as a church there have existed tendencies to make religion and the comprehension and practice of our faith a more complicated endeavor. Worse yet is to practice religion with harshness and employ it as an instrument of plans and ideas which risk distorting belief in the same God we profess to believe. The question, “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?,” is a sincere and fundamental one which Jesus takes seriously. However, just like the previous questions made to the Lord by the Pharisees, Herodian partisans, Sadducees and doctors of the law, the interrogatory comes weighed down with malicious intent. Instead of clarifying a principal aspect of their religion, they used the question as part of the campaign to damage the reputation of Jesus and accuse him of some offense against the religious law. In his debates with the religious authorities of his era, Jesus Christ never sought to shame or discredit them and he never had a triumphal attitude. He was always open and disposed to dialogue. The Lord recognized their intellectual knowledge of God, but their hardness of heart saddened him. They knew all about the religious law, but they were distant from God in their hearts and actions. In each encounter between Jesus and any group or person, including those who acted against him, he always sought to share the love and mercy of his Heavenly Father. The Lord always leaves open the door to conversion and mutual understanding. Such is the nature of love: to love all and in every moment, even those who oppose or hate us. Such is the essence of the greatest commandment in the law. St. Peter sums it up in his first letter when he writes, “Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins" (I Peter 4: 8). It’s that important! Jesus Christ had patience with those who opposed him because he loved them and called them to true religion. In that manner, we learn that God always hopes that his love will open hearts. God delights in our study of Sacred Scripture and church teaching, but he always hopes that it guides us to a deeper comprehension of his loving-kindness which strengthens our commitment to be like Christ to others. God is love and he always hopes that, believing in him, we will imitate him and not make it complicated.