Whoever Obeys and Teaches

Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent

“‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’  For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?  Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?”  Deuteronomy 4:7-8

“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.  But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:19

Piety

When I am a seeker,
I seek both night and day;
I seek the Lord to help me,
And He shows me the way:
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

From “Go Tell it on the Mountain”

Study

The image of the elderly men and women in pews counting their rosary beads in private prayer comes to mind as a contrast to the lessons taught in today’s readings.  They came to church – before the full implication of Vatican II -- and silently prayed to God through prayers they learned and recited throughout their lives.  Silently.  Regularly.  Privately.

Jesus teaches a different theology.  He teaches a theology of action.  Jesus says it is only half the equation to obey the commandments.  The other half of the commandment is to pass it on to the next generations and the next generation and the next generation.   

The other lesson today is that this is not new.  Jesus is not here to overturn Mosaic Law.  In fact, he explains that he is here to fulfill it to the last letter.  During Jesus’ public ministry, his mission remains within the framework of the law, though with significant anticipation of the age to come, explains the notes in the New American Bible.  The words in Matthew echo the words in Deuteronomy:  “However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”   (Deuteronomy 4:19)

Finally, we know all this because Jesus also makes his ministry personal.  In the Hebrew Bible we hear, “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?”  In the New Testament, God is among us.  Closely.  Calling us to action.  Starting with what we know before challenging us to step beyond our comfort zone and out of our personal upper rooms.

Action

We can be a seeker and a watchman.  However, when we come across that which we are seeking, it is time to tell it to others.  When we come across that to which we are watching, it is time to tell it to others. 

What message do you have inside? 

With the Hollywood film "Selma" and the fiftieth anniversary commemorations of the march from Selma to Montgomery, we need little reminder of the importance of the actions on the Bloody Sunday.  Months of unrest in cities like Staten Island, NY, Ferguson, Mo., Madison, WI, and now Norman, OK, “remind those of us who needed the reminder that racism is as much a reality in 2015 as in 1965,” according to an editorial in the National Catholic Reporter. 

We remember those who were killed or injured in the fight for civil rights and more.  They took the command to teach to heart and shouted the story from the mountaintops.   

The fights are not over.  Just ask Kayla Mueller who died in captivity of ISIS/ISIL.  Just ask Notre Dame de Namur Sr. Dorothy Stang and the other murdered rural workers in Brazil.  Maybe we will not be asked to give up our life nor our blood.  What are you willing to risk to tell the story that you cannot keep bottled up inside?