The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to apply the action indicated in the Great Commandment to reject the dryness and discrimination that diminishes our love of neighbour.
The Reading the Prophet Ezekiel shares a Vision of the Dry Bones.
* [37:1–14] This account is a figurative description of God’s creation of a new Israel. Even though that creation begins with the remains of the old Israel, the exiles under the image of dry bones, depicting a totally hopeless situation, the new Israel is radically different: it is an ideal people, shaped by God’s spirit to live the covenant faithfully, something the old Israel, exiles included, were unable to do. While this passage in its present context is not about the doctrine of individual or communal resurrection, many Jewish and Christian commentators suggest that the doctrine is foreshadowed here.
* [37:9] The Hebrew word rûah has multiple related meanings expressed by different English words: wind, spirit, breath. In this translation, rûah is rendered “spirit,” a powerful force that creates vision and insight (v. 1); “breath,” physical energy that quickens and enlivens (vv. 5–6); “wind,” invisible physical energy, sometimes destructive, sometimes invigorating (e.g., the rain-bearing winter winds), also a metaphor for restoration and new life (vv. 9–10); “my spirit,” a share in God’s power so the people observe the law that assures them life in the land (v. 14). (Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 107 invites those who have been rescued by God to give praise.
* [Psalm 107] A hymn inviting those who have been rescued by God to give praise (Ps 107:1–3). Four archetypal divine rescues are described, each ending in thanksgiving: from the sterile desert (Ps 107:4–9), from imprisonment in gloom (Ps 107:10–16), from mortal illness (Ps 107:17–22), and from the angry sea (Ps 107:23–32). The number four connotes totality, all the possible varieties of rescue. (Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus proclaims The Greatest Commandment.
* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking.
* [22:35] [A scholar of the law]: meaning “scribe.” Although this reading is supported by the vast majority of textual witnesses, it is the only time that the Greek word so translated occurs in Matthew. It is relatively frequent in Luke, and there is reason to think that it may have been added here by a copyist since it occurs in the Lucan parallel (Lk 10:25–28). Tested: see note on Mt 19:3.
* [22:36] For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus.
* [22:37–38] Cf. Dt 6:5. Matthew omits the first part of Mark’s fuller quotation (Mk 12:29; Dt 6:4–5), probably because he considered its monotheistic emphasis needless for his church. The love of God must engage the total person (heart, soul, mind).
* [22:39] Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him and joins to the greatest and the first commandment a second, that of love of neighbor, Lv 19:18; see note on Mt 19:18–19. This combination of the two commandments may already have been made in Judaism.
* [22:40] The double commandment is the source from which the whole law and the prophets are derived. (Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB, n.d.)
Carol Zuegner comments that we can love our neighbor as ourselves, but does that count the neighbor who annoys us?
Jesus would say yes to all of the above. Will we sometimes be irritated by those neighbors, colleagues, family members? Yes. We live in a world where paths cross, where what we want and like and see as the right direction may not be the wants and likes and direction of others. We can love the person and not particularly care for how the person reacts in the moment.
Saint Ignatius asks us to find God in all things. All things. Not just the people who agree with us or situations we control. We are all made in the image and likeness of God. That finding God in all things can be so difficult in a world filled with pain and suffering and so little peace. That makes it even more important that in our own corner and in our own way, we take a deep breath. We let our irritation slip away. We pray for peace here and now and everywhere. (Zuegher, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Loving God with heart, mind, and soul,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"Worthy is he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbor and that the perfection of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the texts for today in which the Prophet Ezekiel presents the vision of the dry bones in the plain. Ezekiel preaches and they come back to life. He is referring to the people of Israel and connecting the personal resurrection of the dead with the bones on the surface. The Zoroastrian death practice is to leave the bodies on the ground and on the final day they will rise from the dead using this idea of resurrection of the dead. The idea was beginning to take hold in Israel. Ezekiel came into contact with the Zoroastrian practice to learn more of what we are called to be. The Sadducees and Pharisees who are attacking Jesus ask about the greatest commandment. Friar Jude expresses the bottom line is love, horizontal to our neighbours and vertical, with God.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40 comments that the Catechism tells us, “One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures” (2069).
Every other commandment depends on these two (Matthew 22:40). Love of God is intricately tied up with our love of others, just as our love for our neighbor makes visible our love for God. That’s why we can rely on these two commandments to guide us when we are uncertain about how we should live.
So be sure to love God in prayer today—and love the people he will place in your life.
“Holy Spirit, show me how best to fulfill your command to love God and neighbor in all I say and do today.” (Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40, n.d.)
Father Richard Rohr finds in the prophets an invitation to follow their path of disrupting injustice. We must ask, Why has critical thinking always had to come from outside our religious systems and hardly been allowed from within? This is a major problem.
We have tried to reform religion with the same codes of violence and willpower used by corporations, monetary systems, landowners, and nation-states, often leaving the egos and self-interests of hierarchs quite in control. Further, we have a tendency to minimize evil, attacking it in individual “bad guys” instead of exposing and convicting the intergenerational lies that consume most cultures: things like pride, deceit, power, war, and greed.
This, more than any other reason, is why Christianity did little to reform or evolve the Roman, Holy Roman, Russian, French, Spanish, English, or American empires, but instead slept comfortably with every one of them. The evils that ate us alive were seldom called evil because the “priestly” groups were intent on enforcing ritual requirements and purity codes—in which Jesus and the prophets showed little or no interest. Once we lose the prophetic analysis, most evil will be denied, disguised, or hidden among the rules and rituals of religion and the law itself. This is how truth is “discerned” in a dualistic world: by winning the purity and identity contests. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the guidance of the Spirit as we open our hearts and minds to the power of love to overcome our privilege and prejudice that blocks our mission of love and care for all Jesus siblings.
References
Ezekiel, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/37?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34
Meditation on Matthew 22:34-40. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/08/21/1651581/
Psalms, PSALM 107 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/107?
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Engaging in Good Trouble. Engaging in Good Trouble. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/engaging-in-good-trouble/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). What Is the Greatest Rule of Life? Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
Zuegher, C. (n.d.). Daily Reflection August 21, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-21-2026
