October 25, 2026

Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-3a, 3b-4, 47, 51 (R: “I love you, Lord, my strength.”); 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40

     “Learn from your experience” is an important basis of the Lord’s commands in our Exodus reading. The Israelites had been “aliens … in the land of Egypt”, where they were mistreated, oppressed and enslaved. The Lord expects that from that experience they would learn to treat the “alien” (i.e., foreigner) in their own land with greater respect than the Israelites received in Egypt. It is clear in many biblical texts that “aliens” are a vulnerable class of people. The widow, the orphan, the poor are also vulnerable people. Through the Lord’s command here in Exodus and elsewhere these three groups are paradigmatic in the Torah (the Law), as well as in the Prophets and Psalms, for the people who are most in need. Therefore, they most deserve people’s attention and care.
     If any of these groups are not treated with respect, and if they are not cared for, they no doubt will cry out to the Lord. And then, the Lord says, “I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up….” Throughout the Scriptures, whenever justice is lacking, the Israelites also lack the strength to protect themselves from invading armies. This is the root of the ominous warning: “I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.”
     This learning from the past and caring for those who are vulnerable is also seen in the motivation—the “why”—for keeping the Sabbath holy in the Ten Commandments: “Observe the sabbath day—keep it holy, as the Lord, your God, commanded you. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey or any work animal, or the resident alien within your gates, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. Remember that you too were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe the sabbath day” (Deut 5:12-15; my italics). I imagine most of us think that the motivation for the Sabbath rest is due to the seven-day creation story in Gen 1:1-2:4a. Well, we are not wrong, for that is the “why” in the Exodus version of the Ten Commandments: “…the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your work animal, or the resident alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy” (Ex 20:9b-11).
     Jesus embodied the Lord’s care for the widow, orphan and poor in his ministry. He also healed “aliens”. Everyone Jesus met was a “neighbor” who was to be loved; everyone Jesus met was a chance for him to show his love for God the Father, because every person is created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus’ example and the commands in Exodus remind each and every one of us that we are descendants of “aliens” AND persons who need and deserve “respect” (the basic meaning of “love” in the love commandments). Jesus has been living the answer to the question posed by “a scholar of the law”: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
     This was a question that was discussed (or argued about) among various groups. For example, there is a story in the Talmud (a compilation of Jewish teaching) about two Rabbis who were active in the first 25± years the first century (just before Jesus began his public ministry). A person first asked Rabbi Shammai, “Teach me the Torah while I stand on one foot.” The Rabbi was not amused, so he gave him a dope-slap up side the head (actually pushed him with a builder’s measuring rod). The person then went to Rabbi Hillel with the same challenge. Hillel responded, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. … now, go and learn it” (Shabbat 31a; cp. Tobit 4:15a). In addition, St. Paul, who writes before any of the Gospels were written, told the Galatians, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (5:15). Jesus, however, appended this “second” command from Lev 19:18 to “the greatest and the first commandment”: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Deut 6:5; Mk 12:29-30 includes v. 4: Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!). That this second command “is like” “the greatest and the first” is clear indication that one cannot say s/he is loving God with one’s whole self, if one is not loving one’s neighbor as oneself.
     We don’t hear what the “scholar of the law” did after Jesus’ answer. I think it would have been most appropriate for Jesus to have added, as Hillel did, “now, go, and learn it.” It is one thing to be told the answer, but to truly learn it requires doing it, living it. The double commandment to love is a command to action, to active love. This “love” is not based on feeling or attraction; this love is rooted in a decision to respect the dignity of the other. It is the decision to want for and to give to other persons the same respect we would like them to give to us—and, it is hoped, the respect we give ourselves. This love, however, does NOT first require the other person to have given us respect. This love is not a quid pro quo, a tit for tat. We might remember Jesus’ strong statement on that understanding: “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” (Lk 6:32; cp. Mt 5:46).
So, how do you and I speak about and act toward refugees and immigrants, the “aliens” in our midst? Our modern society and government have more “safety nets” in place than in Jesus’ day, and especially more than in the time of Moses. Nevertheless, there are still many poor in our nation and the world. Throughout the world, millions die each year from starvation and malnutrition; a billion+ live on less than $2.50/day (for excellent information, see finca.org/campaign/world-poverty; FINCA = Foundation for International Community Assistance; it seems providential that this comes on the heals 0f last week’s “World Mission Sunday”). Many lack health care so a great number of preventable deaths occur. Elective abortion and euthanasia are “medical” abuses that fall far short of human dignity. Environmental issues are more and more pressing, and they disproportionately impact the poor. Discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” is still all too prevalent (categories in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act).
     Taking all of these together can be daunting and depressing. As a nation and as a world, however, much progress has been made. There is much more to be done; each of us can reflect on what we are doing and what we might still do for ‘the poor, the widow and the orphan’ and the ‘resident alien’. May we pray with the Psalmist: “I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.” The foundation of our Lord’s love for us and our love for the Lord helps us in our love for ourselves and our “neighbor”—each and every human being with whom we interact, in person, in prayer, even virtually. Our neighbor is also the far distant sister or brother we may never meet, but can help with our prayer and with our support of organizations who directly work to eradicate poverty, hunger, curable diseases, social injustices, etc.