Thirtieth Sunday of the Year, October 25, 2026
Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-30
In New York City, on a cold day in December, a little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, 'my, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!' 'I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’ was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, 'No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.' As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. 'Are you God'? No, said the woman. I am only his child. The boy smiled and said: I knew it all the time. You are some relation of his.
What a beautiful understanding of God! The boy recognised
God not through a miracle or a heavenly vision, but through the hands of a
woman who cared for him. She did not preach a sermon or explain theology. She
simply loved. Through her love, the boy experienced something of God. This is
the heart of today's readings: our love for God becomes real when another
person experiences that love through us.
The first reading from Exodus reveals God's special concern
for the vulnerable. The Lord commands the people not to oppress strangers,
widows, or orphans. He reminds them that they too were once strangers in Egypt.
Their memory of suffering should teach them compassion. God also warns them
against exploiting the poor by taking advantage of their helplessness. In other
words, faithfulness to God cannot be separated from justice and care for those
who are vulnerable.
This message challenges us to look beyond religious
observances and examine our relationships. We may pray sincerely and
participate regularly in worship, but how do we treat people who are poor,
neglected, or unable to repay our kindness? God reminds His people that the
suffering of the vulnerable is not invisible to Him. Their cry matters to Him,
and therefore it must matter to us. True religion begins to show its depth when
we recognise the dignity of those whom society often overlooks.
The second reading, from St Paul's First Letter to the
Thessalonians, shows us what happens when people genuinely receive the Gospel.
Paul praises the community because they accepted the Word of God with
conviction and became examples to other believers. Their faith was not merely
something they professed; it transformed the way they lived. Their example
spread beyond their own community, and others began to discover the power of
the Gospel through their lives.
There is a natural connection between the first and second
readings. Exodus tells us that God's people must care for the vulnerable. Paul
shows us a community whose faith became a living example for others. The Word
of God, when truly received, does not remain confined to our minds or prayers.
It enters our decisions, changes our attitudes, and shapes our relationships.
People begin to understand the Gospel not only by hearing what we believe, but
by seeing how our faith influences our behaviour.
The Gospel brings these readings to their centre. A lawyer
asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus responds with two
commandments: love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your
neighbour as yourself. These two commandments belong together. Jesus does not
allow us to separate devotion to God from responsibility towards others. Our
love for God must take flesh in our love for the people around us.
It is easy to love God in prayer because we cannot always
see what our love demands of us. Loving our neighbour, however, makes that
demand concrete. It may require patience with a difficult person, forgiveness
when we have been hurt, generosity when we would rather keep what we have, or
the courage to defend someone who is treated unjustly. Love becomes real when
it costs us something.
There are three important life messages for us today. First,
let compassion become action. Do not remain indifferent to another person's
suffering. Even a small gesture can restore dignity and hope. Second, make your
faith visible. Like the Thessalonians, allow your beliefs to influence your
conduct. Your kindness, honesty, and concern for others can become a powerful
witness to the Gospel. Third, never separate love of God from love of
neighbour. Our prayer should make us more compassionate, our worship more
generous, and our relationship with God more visible in the way we treat
people.
Let us return to the little boy standing barefoot in the
cold. He asked God for shoes, and God answered through the hands of a woman.
She became a sign of God's presence because she allowed compassion to move her
into action. The boy did not need a theological explanation. He saw God's love
made visible in an ordinary human being.
That is the challenge of today's Gospel. People around us
may be searching for God without knowing how to find Him. They may be longing
for dignity, comfort, acceptance, or simply someone who cares. We may not be
able to solve every problem, but we can refuse to let indifference have the
final word.
Let us ask ourselves: Can someone discover something of
God's love through the way I treat them? When we care for the vulnerable,
forgive those who hurt us, and make room for those who feel forgotten, we
become living signs of God's presence. And perhaps someone, through our
ordinary acts of love, will look at us and say, “I knew it all the time. You
are some relation of His.”
Happy Sunday
