Blog & Pastor Letters

Every word Jesus speaks has weight and is rich in meaning. Jesus says to us today: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. When we read this second great commandment that the Lord gives us, we usually focus on the “love your neighbor” part. Jesus, however, did not just say, you shall love your neighbor. He added two more words — as yourself — and those words are important. Today, let us focus only on what those last two words teach us. Jesus asks us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That, of course, presupposes that we actually do love ourselves. If we do not love ourselves or if we do not properly love ourselves, it will be impossible to love others as they ought to be loved.

In today’s first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we hear about a very interesting figure in the history of the world: the great King Cyrus. He ruled over one of the largest and most powerful empires the world has ever known. He was very good to the people of Israel even though he was not one of them. While many kings throughout history sought to eradicate God’s holy people, Cyrus justly allowed them to live in peace and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. God, as they say, writes straight with crooked lines! God used a king who did not even follow Him to continue to unfold His plan of salvation.

In the Gospel today, we read about a King who is throwing a wedding feast for his son. At the banquet of a king, the food is sure to be an epicurean delight; the vintage of wine is certain to be exceptional; the musicians are going to be concert quality; the guest list will unquestionably include the most important people the King knows. This is one of those invitations that you just do not turn down. First of all, because the King has invited you, and if the King’s invitation is not enough to convince you, at least you know it is going to be a good party.

We often feel crushed under the weight of the anxieties of our lives and of the world — anxieties that come from personal struggles, family struggles, work struggles. We might worry about a loved one who is sick. We might worry about elderly parents. We worry about children or other family members going down the wrong road. We might be worried that they will harm themselves or be miserable their whole lives. We worry about paying all the bills and providing for everything the family needs. If we did not have enough to be anxious about in our own lives, when we turn on the television or grab our phones, we are bombarded with the bad news of the day: hostile politics, wars raging, violence in the streets, hurricanes and wildfires, and more. There is no doubt that a huge segment of the population nowadays is worried, anxious, and suffering from depression.

In today’s Gospel, the Lord severely scolds some of the chief priests and elders of the people. On the outside many of them looked righteous and holy, but as we know from many passages in the Gospels, the Lord is never fooled by a person who looks holy yet is full of filth on the inside. The Lord is never fooled because His Divine gaze pierces deeply into the hearts of those in front of Him — then and now. He knew those to whom He spoke and He knows each and every one of us. In fact, the Lord knows us even better than we know ourselves.