Homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, Sunday, October 25, 2026
Exodus 22:20–26; Psalm 18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c–10; Matthew 22:34–40.
“LOVE GOD COMPLETELY; LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR CONCRETELY.”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
If someone asked you today, “What is the most important thing about being a Christian?” what would you say? Would you say prayer? Going to Mass? Receiving the sacraments? Keeping the commandments? Giving to the Church? All these are important. But in today's Gospel, Jesus brings everything down to one essential truth: Love God with your whole being, and love your neighbour as yourself. The Pharisees ask Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus answers by bringing together two commandments: love of God and love of neighbour.
Notice that Jesus does not say that one is important and the other optional. He joins them together because our love for God must become visible in the way we treat people. We cannot claim to love the invisible God while deliberately wounding the people created in his image. We cannot sing beautiful hymns in church and then destroy someone's dignity outside it. We cannot kneel before the altar and refuse to forgive the person who has offended us. The real test of Christianity is not merely how loudly we worship, but how faithfully we love.
Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” To love God with all our heart means that God must occupy the centre of our lives. He must be more important than money, power, pleasure, popularity, and personal ambition. To love God with all our soul means that our relationship with him must remain alive even when life becomes difficult. We must not abandon God when our prayers seem unanswered, when sickness comes, when our plans fail, or when the future becomes uncertain. To love God with all our mind means allowing God's truth to shape our thinking, our decisions, our values, and our judgments.
But let us ask ourselves an uncomfortable question: Do we love God, or do we merely love what we hope to receive from God?
Sometimes we pray only when we need something. We seek God when we are in trouble but forget him when life becomes comfortable. We are faithful when he seems to bless us, but we become bitter when he allows us to experience the cross.
Authentic love remains faithful even when it does not understand everything. God is not merely someone to call upon in emergencies. He is our Creator, our Father, our refuge, and the source of our existence. He deserves our love not only for what he gives us but for who he is. My dear people, do not give God the leftovers of your life. Give him your heart.
Also, Jesus immediately adds, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” This is where the beauty of Christianity becomes a serious challenge. It is relatively easy to love people who love us, appreciate us, support us, and make us happy. The real test comes when we encounter people who inconvenience us, disagree with us, disappoint us, or cannot repay our kindness. Who is my neighbour?
The first reading from Exodus gives us a practical answer. God commands his people not to oppress the stranger, exploit the poor, or mistreat the widow and the orphan. God declares that he hears the cries of the vulnerable. In other words, God is concerned about how the powerful treat the powerless, how the wealthy treat the poor, how employers treat workers, how leaders treat those entrusted to their care, and how families treat their most vulnerable members. Love is not merely an emotion. Love is the decision to protect another person's dignity.
It is seen when a parent listens patiently to a struggling child; when a husband and wife choose understanding instead of humiliation; when a wealthy person helps someone in need without making that person feel inferior; when a leader serves rather than exploits; and when we refuse to spread gossip that could destroy another person's reputation. Love is also seen in justice. Paying a worker what is due, keeping promises, refusing to cheat, and treating people fairly are not merely good manners. They are moral responsibilities.
Sometimes we ask God to bless us while we are becoming the reason another person is suffering. We pray for prosperity while refusing to pay a debt. We pray for peace while creating division. We pray for mercy while refusing to forgive. We pray for God's intervention while ignoring the person whose suffering we could alleviate.
Today's readings challenge us to recognise that the person in need is not an interruption to our faith; that person is an opportunity to practise it.
Love is the bridge between the altar and everyday life. Thus, Jesus does not separate love of God from love of neighbour. The two commandments are distinct, but they belong together. Our worship must form us into people who love more deeply, forgive more sincerely, and serve more generously.
If we receive the Eucharist but remain determined to destroy one another, we must examine our hearts. If we pray the Rosary but use our words to humiliate others, we must allow Mary to teach us the way of Christ. If we participate in church activities but neglect the suffering of our own families, our discipleship needs renewal. This does not mean that we must agree with everyone or tolerate injustice. Christian love is not weakness. We can correct wrongdoing, establish boundaries, defend victims, and speak the truth without hatred.
Indeed, sometimes love requires us to say no. Sometimes it requires us to confront evil. Sometimes it requires us to forgive someone while still insisting that the person take responsibility for the harm caused. Love does not mean pretending that evil is good. Love means seeking what is truly good for the other person.
The Christian question is not simply, “Am I right?” It is also, “Am I acting with truth, justice, and charity?” We must learn to speak the truth without cruelty, correct without degrading, disagree without hatred, and forgive without encouraging further harm. That is the kind of love Jesus asks of us.
Surely, the world needs witnesses of love. Hence, in the second reading, St Paul commends the Thessalonians because their conversion became an example to other believers. Their faith was not something they kept to themselves; their lives became a witness to the Gospel. This is the challenge for every Christian family and community.
Let our homes become schools of love. Let our parishes become places of welcome. Let our workplaces become places of honesty. Let our communities become places where the weak are protected rather than exploited. The world does not need Christians who merely speak about love. It needs Christians whose actions make God's love credible.
Imagine what would happen if every one of us decided today to stop one harmful habit, reconcile with one person, encourage one discouraged soul, or assist one person in need. Our families would change. Our communities would change. Our Church would become a more convincing sign of Christ's presence. We may not be able to solve every problem in the world, but we can refuse to become another source of suffering in it. And we can become a source of hope.
Friends, at the end of our lives, many things we consider important today will lose their significance. Our possessions will remain behind. Our titles will no longer define us. Our achievements will eventually be forgotten by many. But the love we have given will have made a difference.
The question will not simply be how many prayers we recited, how many positions we occupied, or how much wealth we accumulated. The deeper question will be whether we allowed God's love to transform the way we lived and treated others.
So, as we leave this Eucharistic celebration, let us make three simple commitments:
- Love God faithfully: Give him your time, your trust, your obedience, and your whole heart.
- Love people practically: Show kindness, defend dignity, practise justice, and help those in need.
- Love courageously: Forgive where possible, speak the truth with charity, and refuse to let hatred rule your heart.
Remember this: You cannot love God too much, and you must never love your neighbour too little. May the Lord free us from a religion that has words but no compassion, worship that has ceremony but no charity, and faith that has appearances but no transformation. May our hearts become altars of love, our hands instruments of service, and our lives living testimonies to the Gospel. And may everyone who encounters us encounter something of the goodness, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Have a splendid Sunday!
