Readings 102526
Blessed be God. Praise be to Jesus Christ,
now and forever. Amen.
Come Holy Spirit fill us with joy,
set our hearts ablaze with your presence.
One day, my wife and I were leaving a restaurantwhen a couple approached me.
Both carried backpacks,
and the woman was very pregnant.
The man said, “Sir, I’m not asking for myself,
but my wife is hungry.
Can you give me five dollars for a hamburger?”
I gave him twenty dollars and asked
if they needed anything else.
He thanked me and said someone was coming
to get them that evening.
As they walked toward the hamburger place next door,
a woman in a large black SUV
rolled down her window and said,
“You shouldn’t have given them money.
They’re just going to buy drugs.”
I replied, “They looked hungry.
What they do with the money
is between them and God.”
She shook her head and drove away.
On the back of her SUV
were the words:
“Follow me to church.”
I’ve often thought about that moment.
Two people saw the same situation,
but responded differently.
And it raises an important question:
Does our faith change the way we treat people?
In today’s Gospel,
Jesus tells us the two greatest commandments:
Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind,
and love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus connects these commandments
because our love for God
must be reflected in our love for others.
The first reading reminds us
God hears the cries
of the stranger,
the widow,
and the orphan.
He tells His people to remember
they, too, were once strangers
in a foreign land.
In today's world, it is easy to judge
the homeless,
suspect the poor,
and decide who deserves our compassion.
But Jesus challenges us
to look beyond appearances
and recognize the dignity
of every human person.
This does not mean we abandon good judgment
or ignore the realities of addiction
and personal responsibility.
It means we must never allow
caution to become cruelty
or suspicion to replace compassion.
We may not know another person's whole story,
but we can still respond with kindness.
We can offer food,
lend a hand,
listen without condemning,
and remember that every person
is created in the image of God.
Friends, the greatest commandments
are not simply words we hear in church.
They are a way of life
we must carry into the world.
So let us ask ourselves:
When people encounter us,
do they experience
the judgment of the world,
or the mercy of Christ?
May the words “Follow me to church”
be more than a message on the back of a vehicle.
May they be a testimony
written in our daily actions.
For when we love our neighbor,
especially someone who cannot repay us,
we do more than perform a good deed.
We put our love for God into action.
And that is the heart of the greatest commandments.
Be good, be holy,
and preach the greatest commandment
by the way you live:
love one another,
and forgive.
Praise be to Jesus Christ,
now and forever. Amen.
More Than a Slogan
One day, as my wife and I were leaving a restaurant,
a hungry couple approached us asking for help.
After I gave them some money,
a woman nearby warned me,
"They're probably going to buy drugs."
I answered,
"They looked hungry.
What they do with the money
is between them and God."
Then I noticed the words
on the back of her SUV:
"Follow me to church."
I've never forgotten that moment.
In today's Gospel,
Jesus reminds us that loving God
and loving our neighbor
cannot be separated.
Our faith is not measured
by the stickers on our cars,
the crosses around our necks,
or even the pews we sit in.
It is measured by the love we show
to the people God places in front of us.
We may not know someone's whole story,
but we can always choose kindness.
We can always choose mercy.
We can always choose love.
Because the greatest commandment
is not merely something we believe.
It is something we live.
Be good, be holy,
and preach the Gospel
by the way you live,
love one another,
and forgive.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen
