Friday August 23
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Introduction
Against the rather narrow nationalism of Judges and Ezra-Nehemiah the small book of Ruth gives a romantic, idyllic example in Ruth that even non-Jews can become integrated into the Jewish people. Ruth figures even in the genealogy of Jesus.
At the Last Supper Jesus said: “At this people will know that you are my disciples, that you love one another” (Jn 13:35.) He is speaking not just of any love, but the love by which he loved his disciples, that is, a love that goes to the end, that sets no conditions, that sacrifices everything if necessary for the sake of others. This is the love “with one’s whole heart and mind and soul” and as strong as, or stronger than, self-love, of which today’s gospel speaks. This is a tremendous task that will never end. Is it this kind of love that moves us?
Opening Prayer
Lord God, loving Father,
you have bound yourself to us
with strings of love
and let this love appear among us
in human form
in Jesus Christ your Son.
Let our love,
however limited and hesitant,
reflect a bit the greatness
of the love by which you yourself love us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reading 1: Ru 1:1, 3-6, 14b-16, 22
Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land;
so a man from Bethlehem of Judah
departed with his wife and two sons
to reside on the plateau of Moab.
Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died,
and she was left with her two sons, who married Moabite women,
one named Orpah, the other Ruth.
When they had lived there about ten years,
both Mahlon and Chilion died also,
and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband.
She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab
because word reached her there
that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.
Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her.
Naomi said, "See now!
Your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god.
Go back after your sister-in-law!"
But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!
For wherever you go, I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge,
your people shall be my people, and your God my God."
Thus it was that Naomi returned
with the Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth,
who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab.
They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 146:5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
The LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
Alleluia Ps 25:4b, 5a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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."
Intercessions
– That the Church, the people of God, may never cease to proclaim that love of God and neighbor is the heart of the gospel and that people are God’s gift to us, we pray:
– That people may not lose their hearts in today’s economic systems of profit, efficiency, production and competition but keep giving first place to human relationships of friendship and respect, we pray:
– That in our Christian communities we may uplift one another rather than tear down, accept one another with trust and affection and go forward together in love and hope, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, loving Father,
your own love appeared in human shape
in your Son Jesus Christ.
In this eucharist
let him raise our human love
to your level,
that among us
love may no longer be a duty
but our joy and life,
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, loving Father,
all love worthy of this name
begins with you and leads to you.
By the love you have shown us
in Jesus your Son,
bring us together
and let everything that we do
become a gift
to you and to one another,
that our love may be greater than death
and that we may live for ever.
Blessing
In this eucharist God has let Jesus warm us with his love. Let its glow shine on everyone around you, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Commentary
The Book of Ruth, only four chapters in length, is one of the Bible’s most charming. It has a calm and engaging domesticity, telling the story of one of David’s ancestors. Ruth, a Moabite girl of non-Jewish origin, marries the son of Naomi. After ten years of marriage, Ruth’s husband dies, as did her brother-in-law and, at an earlier time, her father-in-law, Naomi’s husband. Urged by Naomi to join her sister-in-law in returning to her own country, Ruth, realizing that Naomi is now quite alone, refuses to leave and so remains with the widowed in-law. “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” It is a beautiful expression of generous love.
As Christ gives us the Great Commandment as the summation of the Christian spirit, Ruth stands out as an example even though she lived almost a millennium before Christ. The neighbor whom she loved was her own mother-in-law. In comedy fare today, relatives are often belittled, especially in-laws. They are the butt of jokes. To live in Italy is to realize the respect that is had for relatives. They are frequent guests at Sunday dinner; for children, in-laws are part of the extended family.
The story of Ruth is simply an account of what the love of neighbor means. Ruth was not about to return home and leave her widowed mother-in-law alone. It is a touching story of self-giving and makes of Ruth a worthy forerunner of David. If charity begins at home, our relatives should not be overlooked.
Points to Ponder
Strengthening family ties
Ruth as a convert to the Hebrew faith
Sacrificing personal interests for others.