Sir. 15:15-20; Ps. 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor. 2:6-10; Mt.5:17-37
“If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you”. It is not complicated for God but humanity finds a way to make it complicated. God keeps it simple either life or death, good or evil, the wisdom of truth versus the illusion of relativity. Humanity lives in a messy world where right and wrong are determined by the individual conscience that chooses their own truth, defines its own good and evil. God says “whichever he chooses shall be given to him”. The message from God is clear If we choose to follow our conscience apart from God’s word and commandments then we will receive the consequences of that choice. If we obey his word and commandments then we will be saved.
God is clear “to none does he give license to sin”. Sin is an act of the will, we own it and God is the just judge of our sin. God is also our redeemer who offers us a way back to the kingdom by way of his mercy in confession. He provides the means of reconciliation through the sacramental life of the Church. It is not only a means of forgiveness but a channel of grace from where we gain wisdom and strength to overcome sin and darkness.
“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord.” What is this law and how are we to receive it? It comes to us in the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist, that is the Mass. The liturgy of the Word is the wisdom of God revealed through the Spirit in the form of commandments if you choose to follow or not. The liturgy of the Eucharist is the act of love that binds us in the one truth, goodness, beauty and unity of the Trinity as an act of worship. The head and the heart must be one.
The Mass is the “summit” of God’s revelation in which we are called to give public witness to our faith. To this we are called “if you choose” God’s plan of salvation and if not, it is considered “sin” when we knowingly reject his way. To those who say, “that is not my God” the Church says, “you lack the fullness of truth.” This is a simple truth to all who claim to hold their own beliefs follow their own conscience, or simply ignore the revealed truth from God, “believe it or not!”
“Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!” God’s command is always clear and concise. Humanity always raises a question “well what about?” It sort of reminds me of the often quoted saying appearing in various form, “rule #1 God is always right, rule #2 if you believe God is wrong go back to rule #1”. The history of salvation has many examples where humanity makes the choice of doing an evil and God uses it to deliver his people for a greater good and it can even transform the hearts of the evil doers by the testimony of his chosen ones. The evil one has been defeated but he still is fighting for the souls of those he can fool.
The psalm is clear we need we need to be obedient to the “decrees, precepts, and statutes” but it also recognizes that we need instruction and discernment in observing the law in order to have an informed conscience. Here lies the issue with our current society. It is no longer open to public discourse. Any speech that does not agree with current trends is identified a “hate speech”, lacking in compassion, and divisive. This resistance comes with a force of its own hate, anger and division demanding to silence the voices of debate. Instead of seeking a bond of love through discourse it rejects its neighbor having already convicted them from the heart. From the hand that you choose to deal you also receive.
In the time of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees had taken God’s commandments and through the centuries come up with additional laws and rules in how those commandments were to be practiced. Jesus comes to set the record straight, that is “not to abolish but to fulfill” in a greater way the intent, purpose and truth behind the law. Jesus is seeking more than a people who follow the law based on behavior, he desires a law that is incarnated into the heart and spirit of the people.
The “righteousness” of the scribes and Pharisees had taken the law and created all the technicalities required to be in obedience to the law to the point that the true meaning of the law was undermined. As Catholics we often hear reference to Canon Law of the Church. It is the ‘big book” that set the standards of practice for the Church and it stands side by side with the “Big Book” of the Bible but Canon Law is at the service of the Word of God and pastoral judgment is required to act prudently in the Spirit of the Word of God which Canon Law serves to support and defend. Otherwise, we risk becoming like the scribes and Pharisees arguing the law and failing the Spirit. Canon law gets revised, but Scripture stands forever. The scribes and Pharisees hid behind following the rules they had themselves created but had fallen away from the truth of God’s love and mercy.
The gospel warns us of the “wisdom of this age” and those who rule over us. Rulers make laws and decrees, but the scripture teaches us they “pass away” and so do many of their laws but God’s law stands forever. We cannot come to God with the defense of following the accepted teachings and norms of the world when we have already received his Word. God’s wisdom has a hidden mystery reminding us that we can choose to save our life our way or we can follow and trust in his plan of salvation. God has already given us his revelation, choose wisely.
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