Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Whether it be skills, facts, or lessons drawn from experience and the wisdom of others, we’re always learning. It’s true that given our human limitations, we may forget many of the things we once learned. But it is also true that there are things that will never fully leave us, things that we know by heart.
Jesus, today, teaches “many things” to a crowd that follows him and his disciples. While we do not know the specific content of his teaching, we can be sure it involved love: love of God and love of neighbor. The idea that we might need to be taught, we might need to learn how to love might seem strange. Love after all is natural, spontaneous, drawing us outside of ourselves towards the other. But in order for this to happen, our hearts have to be in good shape, on the mend from the aches and bruises that love may have caused in the past, and ready to go the extra mile, beyond any limits we may place on love. Looking to Jesus each day will make this journey possible. His words and gestures give healing. His example gives courage. From the Teacher, may we learn to love by heart, with all our hearts.