Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Don't forget to make GOD the Priority, Others Second and Ourselves Last. From the Heart, Fr. Heart, SVD

1. Welcome to our Bible
Study
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time A
29 October 2017
Prison Awareness Sunday
In preparation for this Sunday’s Liturgy
In aid of focusing our homilies and sharing
Prepared by Fr. Cielo R. Almazan, OFM

2. 1st reading: Exodus 22:20-26
 20 "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you
were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 21
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. 22 If ever
you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely
hear their cry. 23 My wrath will flare up, and I will kill
you with the sword; then your own wives will be
widows, and your children orphans. 24 "If you lend
money to one of your poor neighbors among my
people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward
him by demanding interest from him. 25 If you take
your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it
to him before sunset; 26 for this cloak of his is the
only covering he has for his body. What else has he
to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I
am compassionate.
The focus is on not oppressing the poor.

3. 1st reading: Exodus 22:20-26
Do not oppress
 20 "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once
aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 21 You shall not wrong
any widow or orphan. 22 If ever you wrong them and they cry
out to me, I will surely hear their cry. 23 My wrath will flare up,
and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be
widows, and your children orphans.
Be kind and charitable
 24 "If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my
people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by
demanding interest from him. 25 If you take your neighbor's
cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; 26
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear
him; for I am compassionate.
A simple outline!

4. 1st reading: Exodus 22:20-26
Do not oppress
 20 "You shall not molest or oppress an
alien, for you were once aliens
yourselves in the land of Egypt. 21
You shall not wrong any widow or
orphan. 22 If ever you wrong them
and they cry out to me, I will surely
hear their cry. 23 My wrath will flare
up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows,
and your children orphans.
Be kind and charitable
 24 "If you lend money to one of your
poor neighbors among my people, you
shall not act like an extortioner toward
him by demanding interest from him.
25 If you take your neighbor's cloak as
a pledge, you shall return it to him
before sunset; 26 for this cloak of his
is the only covering he has for his
body. What else has he to sleep in? If
he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I
am compassionate.
Commentary
 The first reading contains a lot of
commandments (mitzvot in Hebrew).
 There are 613 commandments in the
Torah.
 Vv.20-23 can be summed up as:
 Do not oppress
 The aliens (foreigners, powerless,
strangers)
 The widow or orphan (fatherless,
without defender)
 The punishment is severe:
 My wrath
 I will kill you with the sword
 I will make your wives widows and
children orphans.
 Vv.24-26 exhort us to be kind and
considerate.
 Not acting like an extortionist
 Not demanding interest on a loan
 Will return the borrowed cloak
(protection) before sundown.
 The cry of the poor is powerful:
 God will listen to them. In his compassion,
he will take heed.

5. Reflections on the 1st reading
 We are a covenanted people.
 We have rights and privileges, as well as, obligations
and responsibilities.
 As God’s people, we are governed by his laws.
 His laws enjoin us to love the poor.
 His laws prohibit us to be oppressive to the poor.
 God listens to the prayer of the oppressed, the poor,
the widows, the orphans and the strangers.
 Do not take advantage of the ignorant and the
powerless.

6. Resp. Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 I love you, O LORD, my strength,
3 O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
3 My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
4 Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
47 The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
51 You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.

7. Resp. Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 I love you, O LORD, my
strength,
3 O LORD, my rock, my fortress,
my deliverer.
3 My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my
salvation, my stronghold!
4 Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
47 The LORD lives and blessed
be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
51 You who gave great victories to
your king
and showed kindness to your
anointed.
Commentary
 The psalm exclaims God as his
protector.
 In v.2, the psalmist expresses his
love for God. He recognizes God
as the source of his strength.
 In v.3, the psalmist considers
God as his protection, his refuge
and his salvation.
 In v.4, the psalmist praises God
for his safety.
 V.47 affirms that God is alive and
his protector, as in v.3
 In v.51, the psalmist attributes to
God the king’s victory over his
enemies.
 The psalmist considers Israel’s
king as God’s anointed.

8. Reflections on the Psalm
 God protects his people.
 He is their impregnable fortress.
 Do you take refuge in the Lord, when you are
in danger?
 Or, do you want to prove yourself by
endangering yourself?
 God wills our well-being and safety.
 He fights our own battles, when our enemies
are too strong for us.

9. 2nd reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
 5c You know what sort of people we were (among)
you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us
and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction,
with joy from the holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a
model for all the believers in Macedonia and in
Achaia. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has
sounded forth not only in Macedonia and (in) Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so
that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they
themselves openly declare about us what sort of
reception we had among you, and how you turned to
God from idols to serve the living and true God 10
and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from (the) dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the
coming wrath.
The focus is on the good deeds of the Christians in Thessalonica.

10. 2nd reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Thessalonians as good imitators
 5c You know what sort of people we were (among) you for your
sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit,
7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia
and in Achaia.
Their preaching and their faith spread throughout the place
 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only
in Macedonia and (in) Achaia, but in every place your faith in
God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.
People speak well about them
 9 For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of
reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from
idols to serve the living and true God 10 and to await his Son
from heaven, whom he raised from (the) dead, Jesus, who
delivers us from the coming wrath.
A simple outline!

11. 2nd reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Thessalonians as good imitators
 5c You know what sort of people we
were (among) you for your sake. 6
And you became imitators of us and
of the Lord, receiving the word in
great affliction, with joy from the
holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a
model for all the believers in
Macedonia and in Achaia.
Their preaching and their faith
spread throughout the place
 8 For from you the word of the Lord
has sounded forth not only in
Macedonia and (in) Achaia, but in
every place your faith in God has
gone forth, so that we have no need
to say anything.
People speak well about them
 9 For they themselves openly
declare about us what sort of
reception we had among you, and
how you turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God 10
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from (the) dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the
coming wrath.
Commentary
 The converts have become like Paul
and his companions. They, too,
received the word of God with
affliction and with joy. V.5c.
 As a result, they have become a
model community throughout the land
of the Greeks (North – Macedonia,
South – Achaia). V.7
 The whole country has taken notice of
the word of the Lord due to their
preaching and their faith in God. V.8
 They have made a good impression.
 People say good things about them.
V.9
 How well they received Paul and the
other missionaries
 How they have been converted to
the true God and to his Son.

12. Reflections on the 2nd reading
 We, as a community (parish), can
become like the Thessalonians.
 We can gain prestige by showing
interest in the word of God and in
enduring afflictions that come
along with it.
 It is not true that evil things are
worth the news.
 Like the case of the
Thessalonians, people can also
talk well about us, when we
welcome with warmth our
missionaries and the word of
God.
Maps ©1976,1978 UBS. Used with permission by
Philippine Bible Society.

13. Gospel reading: Matthew 22:34-40
 34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced
the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one
of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking,
36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the
greatest?" 37 He said to him, "You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and
the first commandment. 39 The second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 The whole
law and the prophets depend on these two
commandments."
The focus is on the greatest commandment.

14. Gospel reading: Matthew 22:34-40
 34 When the Pharisees heard
that he had silenced the
Sadducees, they gathered
together, 35 and one of them (a
scholar of the law) tested him by
asking, 36 "Teacher, which
commandment in the law is the
greatest?" 37 He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your
mind. 38 This is the greatest
and the first commandment. 39
The second is like it: You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.
40 The whole law and the
prophets depend on these two
commandments."
Commentary
 In v.34, the Pharisees (have no
love) come next to test Jesus.
 In vv.35-36, one of them asks:
What is the greatest
commandment?
 In v.37, Jesus quotes the OT.
 V.38 affirms the first and the
greatest commandment: Love of
God with everything that you
have.
 In v.39, Jesus gives the second
greatest commandment: Love of
neighbor, as yourself.
 In v.40, love is the foundation of
everything else in the Old
Testament.

15. Reflections on the gospel reading
 Love is the name of the game.
 Love has both vertical and horizontal
dimensions.
 The vertical dimension points to loving God.
 The horizontal dimension points to loving
one’s fellow men and women.
 Both dimensions form the cross of our life.
 This is the desired cross that we carry on our
shoulders.
 We suffer because we love God and we love
our brethren.

16. Tying the 3 readings and the Psalm
 The first reading talks about loving the poor.
 The psalm celebrates the loving God as
protector and savior.
 The second reading talks about loving the
word of God and spreading it through life.
 The gospel reading talks about the greatest
commandment of love.

17. How to develop your homily / sharing
 Are you a loving person?
 We are all challenged, by our readings, to be a loving
people.
 In the first reading, God demands that we show love
to the poor, the alien, the stranger (foreigner).
 God threatens those who are oppressive to them.
 God threatens those who do not return what they
have borrowed from the poor, like their means of
protection (mantle) and livelihood (tool).

18.  The gospel reading picks up the Old Testament
commandment on loving God and neighbor.
 Jesus quotes the “Shema” of Deut 6,4-6. “Hear, O Israel,
hear…” recited by the Jews twice a day.
 Jesus wants that we love God full blast, 100%, not half-
hearted.
 He demands a total, animated, energetic and power-filled
love.
 Our love must have a big impact.
 When you love the poor and other people and God, don’t
withhold anything. (Huwag silang tipirin).

19.  In the second reading, Paul affirms the love of
the Thessalonians for Paul and the word of
God they taught.
 The loving response of the community was
infectious. It spread throughout the land of
Greece.
 Our love must be outstanding and noticeable.
 To have a big impact on other people, our
love must be shown communally.
 We must build a community of love.

20.  In the parishes where we belong, we must examine
ourselves if, first of all, we have love.
 Do our parish leaders (PPC) have love for their
members and the people?
 Do the parishioners love their own parish? Are they
proud of it?
 If they love, they must love their catechists, priests
and missionaries and the word of God they proclaim.
 In many parishes, the parishioners do not give an
impression that they love their priests and the
missionaries.

21.  Without love, it is impossible to establish a relationship
with God and others.
 Without love, we cannot serve the church.
 Without love, we cannot accomplish anything: we
cannot defend the poor and the oppressed.
 Without love, we can easily turn into an oppressor,
victimizing the weak.
 Without love, there is no salvation.

22.  The eucharist is the sacrament of love.
 Reception of the eucharist is a sign that we
love God and we take responsibility for our
neighbor.
 The eucharist is only for those who love.

23. Our Context of Sin and Grace
 Loveless
 Without affection or sympathy
 Inconsiderate
 Molester
 Frigid, dry, stale
 Oppressive
 Anti-poor
 Anti-social
 Extortionist
 Usurer
 Borrowing without returning
 Godless
 Too independent
 Full of enthusiasm
 Exciting life
 Defender of the poor
 Justice and Peace Movements
 With feelings, very human
 Affectionate, loving persons
 Understanding
 Considerate, helpful
 Knows oneself
 Passionate

24. Suggested Songs
 Paano Namin Masasabi
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVN-MThZQDs
 Yesteryears’ Curse
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlKeY-Ikk2U