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Reflection by Christopher Roga;DMC member, Parishioner St Michael's Parish , Berwick
THE JUST LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD
The Law and Covenant Relationships
To go the St Michael’s Church, Berwick, I drive down Clyde Road. The speed limit is 40kmph, but it is astonishing how many cars/utes pull out, whiz past on my left and then cut in front of me! Can they not read the road signs? Are they mathematically challenged? Are they so focussed on their own busy-ness that they reject this rule? Don’t they realize that the speed limit is designed to keep all road users safe? Do they need to go to Spec Savers? Perhaps, I should disobey the road signs and speed, too?
Background to the Readings
Around 1440 BCE, God established a binding Covenant with the newly freed Israelites at Mount Sinai (Ex 19-24). They freely chose to worship only One God, YHWH, unlike their Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian counterparts etc., and they became God’s chosen people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is Israelite identity and shapes their subsequent history. To help them live as the People of God, they received the Ten Commandments, and later 600+ more specific laws.
First Reading: Dt 4: 1-2, 6-8.
Moses commands the Israelites to pay attention to God’s Law as a blueprint for living in right relations with God, parents, each other and the wider community. They are not to add to, or subtract from, the Law to suit themselves. Their reward is that God will come near them. They will be regarded as wise and unique among all nations. And God will give them the promised land.
Second Reading: James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27. James advises the early Christians (and us), the New People of the New Covenant made by Christ, to accept and submit humbly to the word within us. We cannot choose to do whatever we want, whenever we feel like, and to whomever we want. We must discern God’s will, check with Church teaching, and put it into action. We must care for the needy because that is what God does. Mother Teresa advises that “We do ordinary things with great love.”
Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. Jesus and the Pharisees dialogue about how to practice the Law. Both desire to serve God. The Pharisees follow the letter of the Law scrupulously, which is splendid, and they reprimand those who break it, which is judgemental. They judge behaviour.
Jesus does not condemn, nor dismiss, the Law, but he sees a different paradigm. Evil comes from within. Therefore, the Law must be internalised, or it will be only lip service and ‘hypocrisy’. The internal self and external action must align for integrity.
The Law is a means to draw near to God, not an end in itself. Laws must serve, not be masters. Also, over-dependence on laws disempowers us and can lead to action paralysis.
Conclusion
The three readings explore the dynamic of the Law in the covenant context and show us how to live in harmony with God, each other and our natural world. This is the way to build the Reign of God in our families, homes, work places, pubs and parishes, today.
Somethings to Ponder
