11th Week of Ordinary Time, Thursday, 6-22-23, Year A
Readings: First Reading 2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111:1-4,7-8; Gospel Mt 6:7-15
Optional Memorials: St. Paulinus of Nola Bishop, St. John Fisher Bishop and Thomas More, Martyrs
Theme: Commandment in Prayer
St. Paul struggled with false prophets and religious zealots that took the Gospel of Christ and twisted it into what they wanted it to be, a reflection of their ways and laws and not that of Christ’s. You can hear the exasperation in his voice as he extolls the Corinthians about his love for Christ’s Gospel and for them as brothers and sisters.
It is easy for many of us, as time goes by, to lose sight of the original meaning or truth of something we so long ago were taught. Over time, world views and societal influences and modern sages can slowly change our understanding of that which we were certain of many years ago. Most of the time we are not even aware that our understanding has changed from what it once was, and possibly in the wrong way.
St. Paul constantly fought against these influences of his time. He constantly reminded the people of the truth of Christ’s Gospel and not to be swayed by elegant and charismatic speakers who only wanted new believers to follow them and their altered understanding of the Gospel. Sound familiar? Today’s world is no different than that of St. Paul’s.
Jesus knew that these same pitfalls lay ahead for His believers and so He always brought them back to the truth with simple remedies. In today’s Gospel we hear one of those simple remedies. Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray by giving them what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer is deep in meaning and exhortation, beyond a few simple words I can put here. But one thing stands out. Jesus ties all that God commands of us into this prayer. If we look all the way back to Moses and Mt. Sinai, 1,300 years before Jesus, where God gave Him the Ten Commandments, we see the Lord’s prayer in them.
When we break down the Ten Commandments, we see where the first three commandments are about our relationship and worship of God, while the last seven commandments are about our relationship with one another. Jumping about 1,332 years later, Jesus is describing this same summation of the Ten Commandment as the basis for the “Golden Rule.”
In the Gospel of Mark (12:29-31) we hear Jesus telling the scribe what the greatest of the all the commandments is:
“The first is this: Hear, O Israel!
The Lord your God is Lard 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.”
Thus, the Golden Rule embodies the summation of the Ten Commandments, i.e., to love God first and our neighbor as ourselves.
In today’s Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus once again, with simplicity, gives us a way to forever remember these two things that are most important of all, the greatest of the commandments.
Looking at the Lord’s Prayer we see the first rule of loving God first:
“Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is heaven.
Finally, we see the second rule of loving our neighbor:
“Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
There is a reason we start the Communion Rite within the Mass with the Lord’s Prayer. It is to remind us, just before we receive Christ Himself, that we are to love God first and then our neighbor as ourselves and to ask God to forgive us our sins if we have done anything to tarnish either of these.
False prophets and charismatic people will try to change our understanding of Christ’s Gospel. When that happens, look to Jesus first for correction and right judgement. Jesus will always give us a simple answer and a simple, easy way to understand His teaching and thus, that of His Father. We are the ones that over complicate and over think answers to the mysteries of God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. When things get complicated, look to the Lord’s Prayer and it will remind you of all you ever really need to know, which is to be immersed in a sea of love for God with all you have and for your neighbor as yourself.
May God bless you today and every day!
Saint James Catholic Church 