Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A · Matthew 22:34-40

The greatest commandment

For Sunday, October 25, 2026

In Sunday's Gospel, a Pharisee takes a run at our Lord. He is a scholar of the law, an expert. The law of Moses has 613 commandments, and he probably knew every single one in depth. He would have studied them, argued them, and taught them. So he tests Jesus with a question: “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus answers, Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And follows with the second: love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two.

Last week Jesus said, repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. We belong to God, created in His image. Father's homily drove that home. He took us back to Genesis, where God says, “Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.”

What does this mean? Paul makes it clear in Romans 13:8, Love Fulfills the Law: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Then in Luke's Gospel, Jesus challenges us and makes it clearer. What about love of enemies? “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Luke 6:32).