30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Statio and Kyrie calls

Dear sisters and brothers in the Lord,

We are gathered here today to celebrate the holy mass together. We come from different countries and cultures. We speak different languages and bring our own life stories with us.
Each and every one of us has brought something with us: joy and gratitude, perhaps also worries, questions or a longing for peace and security.

You are welcome here. You belong here.

These words are meant to be more than just a friendly greeting. They are meant to express what defines our community: every person is welcome, regardless of where they come from or what language they speak.

In the fellowship of this service, we may find a moment’s peace. We may simply be here, just as we are. We do not have to prove anything to God. He knows us and accepts us.

So let us be still and prepare ourselves to encounter God. Let us ask him to take away everything that weighs us down and to open us anew to his presence.

•    Lord Jesus Christ, you know our paths and the stories of our lives. You know what moves us and what we lack. Lord, have mercy on us.
•    Christ, you meet us with patience and mercy. You lift us up when we have sinned or need new hope. Christ, have mercy on us.
•    Lord Jesus Christ, you bring us together, even though we are different. Open our hearts to your love and to the people by our side. Lord, have mercy on us.
 

First Reading

Exodus 22:20-26

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the sons of Israel this:

 ‘“You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare and I shall kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans.

‘“If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him.

‘“If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset. It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.”’

Second reading

1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

You observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction, and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with the joy of the Holy Spirit that you took to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you. This has made you the great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell other people about it: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God; and how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming.

Gospel

Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

Sermon

Dear sisters and brothers in the Lord,

What is the most important thing in life?

If we ask people this question, we will hear a variety of answers. For some, it is family. For others, it is health, peace or security. Still others wish, above all, for a place where they can feel at home.

Perhaps sometimes a person does not need much at all: a kind word, a sympathetic ear, a helping hand. Perhaps they simply need someone who notices them and makes them feel: ‘You are welcome. You belong here.’

The question of what is most important in life was also on people’s minds in Jesus’ time.
In today’s Gospel, a teacher of the Law asks Jesus which commandment in the Law is the most important. Jesus replies with the words:
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’
And immediately he adds a second commandment:
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
For Jesus, these two commandments go hand in hand. Love for God and love for one’s neighbour cannot be separated from one another.

But what does that mean in practical terms?
How does this love become visible?
And what does that mean for us, who come from different countries and are celebrating worship together today?
I believe the first reading from the Book of Exodus gives us an important clue.

1. Remember what it is like to be a stranger
In the first reading, God speaks to his people. He tells them not to exploit or oppress strangers. He then reminds them of their own history:
They themselves were once strangers in Egypt.

This point is crucial. God reminds his chosen people that they themselves have experienced what it means to be a stranger.

The people of Israel did not have an easy life in Egypt.
They were dependent on others.
They had to live and work under difficult conditions.
They knew what it felt like to have few rights and little protection.

God therefore tells them, in essence:
Do not forget your own history!
You know what it is like to be dependent on others.
You know how much a person needs protection and help.
That is why you should treat others in such a way that they do not have to experience the same hardship.

Compassion should grow out of one’s own experience. Anyone who has experienced for themselves how hard life can be should be attentive to the plight of others.
This message is still of great importance today.

Even today, there are many people who leave their homes.
Some are fleeing war and violence.
Others are seeking work, safety or a better future for themselves and their children.
Some are joining their families.
Others have to start all over again because their lives have changed so drastically.

Every person brings their own story with them. Some stories are marked by hope, others by loss and pain. Many people have to learn a new language, find their way in unfamiliar surroundings and build new relationships.

That takes strength.
It takes time.
And it takes people who treat them with openness.

Those who are new to a country often do not yet know the rules and customs.
Those who do not have a good command of the language cannot always express themselves as they would like.
Those who bring different experiences with them may understand some things differently from people who have grown up here.

In such situations, patience and mutual understanding are needed.
The first reading reminds us that we must not reduce anyone to their foreignness.
A person is more than their background.
They are more than their language.
They are more than what others know or assume about them.

Every person stands before God with their own dignity.
This is not just about people who come from another country.
A sense of alienation can also arise right here amongst us. A person may have lived here for many years and still not feel accepted. They may speak the same language and yet feel that they do not belong.

The crucial question is therefore not simply: Who is the stranger here?
Rather, we must ask ourselves: How do we treat someone who is different from us?
Do we make them feel welcome?
Or do we make it difficult for them to find their place in our community?

God reminds his people – and therefore us too (!) – of their own history,
so that they do not forget what people owe one another.
We, too, must take this reminder seriously.
It can help us to remain attentive and to treat others with greater understanding.

2. God hears the voice of the weak
The first reading does not speak only of strangers. It also mentions widows, orphans and the poor. These are people who, in those days, had particularly little protection and could easily be overlooked or disadvantaged.
God takes their plight seriously.

He warns against exploiting them or treating them unjustly. And he promises to hear their cry.
This reveals something essential about God: he turns his attention particularly to those whose voices are otherwise scarcely heard.

He does not only see those who are strong and able to help themselves.
He also sees those who need support.
He hears those who cannot defend themselves.
He takes seriously the concerns of those who count for little in society.
This is a comforting message – a message of good news.
Perhaps we know people who achieve a great deal yet receive little recognition.
Perhaps we know families who have to make do with very little money.
Perhaps we come across people who are lonely or whose worries go unnoticed.
There are such people amongst us too.
Sometimes we do not recognise their distress straight away.
A person may smile kindly yet be carrying a heavy burden.
They may appear confident on the outside whilst feeling lost on the inside.
They may be surrounded by many people and yet still feel alone.
This reading invites us to take a closer look.
It does not merely call on us to be kind. It also reminds us of our responsibility:
Where people are treated unjustly, we must not simply look the other way.
Where someone needs help, we should consider what we can do.
Of course, we cannot solve every problem. Not all of us can bring about major change. But we can ensure that people around us are not overlooked.

Sometimes it starts with a conversation.
Sometimes with practical help.
Sometimes simply by listening to someone and taking their concerns seriously.

This is particularly important in an international community. People have different ways of making themselves understood. Some can express their concerns clearly. Others find it difficult to find the right words.

That is when we need people who take the time to ask questions. People who do not judge too quickly. People who are willing to understand one another.
This is how the message of the first reading comes to life in our daily lives.
God hears those who call out to him. And he also trusts us to hear one another.

3. Love for God is shown through love for others
This brings us back to the Gospel.
Jesus calls love for God the first and most important commandment. Yet he does not stop there. He sets out the second commandment alongside it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’
This is no coincidence. Jesus links the two commandments so closely that, together, they form the foundation of our faith.

Love for God must not remain merely words and prayers. It should shape our thoughts and actions. It should influence how we treat other people.

We can praise God and pray to him during worship. But if, afterwards, we despise, exclude or treat people unjustly, we are contradicting what we have just been celebrating.

Loving God therefore also means taking his creatures seriously.
That does not mean we have to find every person likeable.
Nor does it mean we always have to agree with everyone.
People remain different. They have different ideas, habits and experiences.
It is precisely where we encounter differences that it becomes clear how seriously we take the commandment to love our neighbour.
It is easy to be kind to people who are like us and whom we understand well.
It becomes more difficult when someone thinks, speaks or acts differently from us.
That is when love requires patience.
It requires a willingness to ask questions rather than jumping to conclusions.
It requires the ability not to make our own habits the yardstick for everyone else.

Perhaps, in our congregation, loving our neighbour means approaching someone who is still standing alone. Perhaps it means explaining something to someone that we take for granted. Perhaps it means not fuelling a dispute any further, but seeking a path to reconciliation.

Such gestures may seem small. Yet they can make a huge difference to a person.
For through them, a person feels: I am seen. I am taken seriously. I am not alone.
In this way, love for God becomes visible in the way we treat one another.

4. Love your neighbour as yourself

Jesus adds an important qualification to his commandment: we are to love our neighbour as ourselves.

This statement, too, deserves our attention.

Some people always put their own needs last. They look after others and try to please everyone. They do not want to be a burden and are reluctant to ask for help.

Yet Jesus does not say that we should forget about ourselves. He reminds us that we, too, are human beings who need love and care.

Our worries, too, have a place. We, too, are allowed to be tired. We, too, are allowed to make mistakes and ask for forgiveness. And we, too, are allowed to accept help.

This is particularly important when people have to make a fresh start. Anyone living in a foreign country may feel under pressure to get everything sorted as quickly as possible. They want to learn the language, find work, support their family and find their feet in a new society.

In doing so, they mustn’t forget that they need time. They must recognise their limits and accept support.

This applies just as much to people who help others. They, too, need breaks, encouragement and people to support them.

Love for one’s neighbour does not, therefore, mean that one person always gives and the other always receives.

A vibrant community is created when people are able to give to one another and, at the same time, are willing to accept help themselves.

Today, someone needs our help. Tomorrow, we may be the ones who need help from someone else.
This is how we learn that no one has to manage everything on their own. We belong together, precisely because we cannot cope with everything on our own.

5. A community where people find a home
Today we are celebrating this service together.
We come from different countries and cultures. We bring with us different languages and life stories.

This diversity is not always easy. Misunderstandings are inevitable. Sometimes it takes time for trust to grow. Sometimes we have to learn to deal patiently with our differences.

But our differences need not divide us.
We can learn from one another.
We can enrich one another’s lives.
We can discover that people who live differently from us open up new perspectives for us.
Above all, however, we can listen together to the One who calls us all together: Jesus Christ.

He reminds us that love for God and love for our neighbour go hand in hand. And the first reading shows us that this love is needed most of all where people are vulnerable and in need of protection.
A Christian congregation is therefore more than just a group of people who pray together.
It should be a place where people are accepted.
A place where no one is valued any less because of their background.
A place where people can find help and contribute their gifts.

This does not happen by itself. It requires our attention and our willingness to reach out to one another.
Perhaps we can take one simple question from this service with us into the coming week: To whom can I show that they are welcome?

Perhaps it is someone we have hardly noticed until now.
Perhaps someone whose language we find difficult to understand.
Perhaps someone we do not always get on with easily.
We do not have to change everything. But we can make a start.

For God’s love becomes visible where people treat one another with respect. It becomes visible when we listen, help, forgive and leave no one behind.

God loved us first.
We may live out of this love.
And out of this love, we can reach out to others.

Let us ask him to keep our hearts open.
That we do not overlook the needs of others.
That we treat strangers with respect and shape our community in such a way that people can find a home within it.
Then Jesus’ words are not only heard, but also put into practice:

To love God and to love one’s neighbour as oneself. The commandment that can bring us happiness. Amen.
 

Translated with deepl