Friday - 20th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Matthew 22:34-40

He Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Along the Via Dolorosa

 

Advice from An Old Farmer

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.

Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

 

Every day we are faced with choices!  Too often, I think, we make our decisions based on one simple premise – the lesser of 2 evils!  What can I get away with?  What will hurt me the least?  We worry about whether we will get caught and what sort of punishment we will have to face!  When you think about it, we worry about ourselves and not others!  Especially when we were little, we pushed the limits on our parents’ rules, tried to see how much we could get away with.  I’m guessing we all did, at some point.  Wash your hands, clean your room, do your homework, obey your parents, don’t lie, make your bed, don’t steal!

The Pharisees in today’s Gospel try once again to trap Jesus with a difficult question.  Out of over 600 different laws in the Torah, which one is the greatest!  Jesus answers with one simple word- LOVE!  Love God and love your neighbor!  The love that Jesus is talking about is active!  It is not simply a nice feeling I have inside. It is this powerful, energizing emotion that reveals itself in all our actions.  It is not just a bunch of words but it’s what we do and how we treat our loved ones.  It’s how we give of ourselves for their benefit even when it’s inconvenient, even when it’s difficult.  It’s a love that grows and flourishes, makes us stronger and better!

For us, the challenge is clear!  Do we live our lives choosing the lesser of two evils?  Or do we live it by choosing the greater good?

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