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http://rcia.olph.us

http://rcia.olph.us/http://rcia.olph.us/

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Matthew 22:34-40

The Greatest Commandment

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When does this occur in the life of Jesus?

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Background Follows an episode where the Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus with a no

win question much like the Pharisees and Herodians had tried to do in last

Sundays paying taxes reading

Sadducees

- Belonged mostly to the priestly and upper classes

- Occupied important posts, especially in the Temple

- Most of the high priest where Sadducees

- Despite their power and prestige they were despised by the people- Only the Torah was accepted as the source for moral obligations

- They rejected later doctrines such as resurrection of the dead, angels, devils

and Gods direct providence

Pharisees

- Belonged mostly to the non-priestly classes- Anyone could become a Pharisee

- The popular Jewish party at the time of Jesus

- Most were teachers of the Law

- Accepted the resurrection of the dead, angels, devils and Gods providence

- Apposed to Jesus (notable exceptions Nicodemus, Gamaliel)

- Paul was a Pharisee

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Food For Thought The 613 commands of the Mosaic Law (Fr. Jim mentioned this when he spoke

about the tallit or prayer shawl in his Old Testament talk) are distilled into two

prescriptions: love God and your neighbor. These summarize the spirit of the

entire Old Testament.

According to Paul, love is the greatest theological virtue and fulfills Gods moral

law

1Cor. 13:13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these

is love.

CCC 1822 - Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all

things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.

Cyril of Alexander (Doctor of the Church)

- Therefore the first commandment teaches every kind of godliness. For tolove God with the whole heart is the cause of every good. The second

commandment includes the righteous acts we do toward other people. The

first commandment prepares the way for the second and in turn is

established by the second. For the person who is grounded in the love of

God clearly also loves his neighbor. The kind of person who fulfills these two

commandments experiences all the commandments.

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What word or phrase stands out?

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What significance does this have in my life?

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Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Gospel according to Matthew22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the

Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholarof the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which

commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You

shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your

soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the firstcommandment. The second is like it: You shall love your

neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend

on these two commandments."