Sunday October 26, 2014 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Love Hurts

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 148

Reading 1 ex 22:20-26

Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.

"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.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
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."

Responsorial Psalm ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R/ (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 2 1 thes 1:5c-10

Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
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.
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
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.

Gospel mt 22:34-40

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?"
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."

If you look up the word “Love” in the dictionary you will find this definition: “a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person”.  However, to the Christian this definition is clearly inadequate; how can love be merely a feeling?!  For GOD is LOVE!  Sisters and brothers, can our God be reduced to a feeling?  Absolutely not!  Unfortunately, love is often reduced to mere emotions and feelings; for example have you ever heard someone say, “I love the Spurs!” or “I love barbacoa tacos!”?  Well if you have then you are not alone; in fact I say those expressions quite often to myself! But all jokes aside, what about when God says; “you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”? Brothers and sisters He is saying to LOVE with all the Faith, Mercy, Hope, and Charity within your very being!  In other words, Love to the point that it hurts!  True Love is not just about good feelings or feeling all warm and fuzzy inside; True Love is founded and shared in self-giving and sacrifice.  What is your definition of  Love? How are you fulfilling God’s law of Love? Join me in professing: “I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.”  Blessed be the name of the Lord now and forever!

Si usted busca la palabra "amor" en el diccionario encontrará esta definición: "un sentimiento de afecto fuerte o constante hacia una persona". Sin embargo, para el Cristiano esta definición es claramente insuficiente; ¡¿cómo puede el amor ser reducido a un sentimiento?! ¡Porque Dios es Amor! Hermanas y hermanos, ¿puede nuestro Dios ser reducido a un sentimiento? ¡Por supuesto que NO! Desafortunadamente, el amor suele ser reducido a simple emociones y sentimientos. Por ejemplo, ¿alguna vez has oído a alguien decir: "¡Amo a los Spurs!" o "¡Amo a los tacos de barbacoa!"? Bueno, si ya escucharon esto, no está solo; de hecho yo digo esas expresiones a menudo a mí mismo. Pero bromas a un lado, ¿qué tal cuando Dios dice; "Amarás al Señor, tu Dios, con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma, y con toda tu mente" y "amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo"? Hermanos y hermanas, Él nos está diciendo que debemos de amar con toda la Fe, Misericordia, Esperanza y Caridad dentro de nuestro propio ser. En otras palabras, ¡Amar hasta el punto que duela! El verdadero amor no son sólo buenos sentimientos. El Verdadero Amor se funda y se comparte en el darse de sí mismo y en el sacrificio. ¿Cuál es su definición de amor? ¿Cómo está cumpliendo con la ley del amor de Dios? Únase a mí al profesar: "Te amo, oh Señor, mi fuerza, oh Señor, mi roca, mi fortaleza, mi libertador." ¡Bendito sea el nombre del Señor, ahora y siempre!