An Enviable Gift

An Enviable Gift

March 6, 2013

Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Moses spoke to the people and said:  “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.  Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the Lord, my God has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.  Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘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?  However, take care and be earnestly on our 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 4:1, 5-9)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”  (Matthew 5:17)

Piety

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.  He has not done this for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them.  (Psalm 147:19-20)

Study

When I was a child in CCD, I was introduced to a God who was full of rules and regulations, a God who always seemed to be checking to see what we had done wrong or what sins we had committed.  Souls were drawn as circles on the blackboard and filled in with white chalk.  Commit a venial sin and the sister would erase a little spot from the soul.  A mortal sin resulted in the soul being gone from the board entirely, so dark you couldn’t see it.  God’s commandments seemed to me mostly a means for God to trip us up.  Fortunately, I had a grandmother who told me stories of Jesus and talked about how much God loves us, because I would never have guessed that from CCD.

Moses has a different take on God’s commandments.  He knows just how much God loves his people.  The Lord has rescued them from slavery in Egypt, led them safely through the Red Sea, and sustained them in the desert.  Now, as they are close to entering the land God has promised them, they receive this gift from God.  Far from being a means to trip us up, God’s Law is designed to help us remain faithful to him.  God is well aware that when we wander far from him and far from home like the prodigal son, we end up in trouble.  So, he reminds us to keep him first in our lives.  And just as a mother or father tries to prevent their child from getting hurt by running out in the street, touching a hot stove, or sticking a finger in an electrical outlet, God wants to keep us safe and close to him.  He gives us guidelines for living with our brothers and sisters.  God knows that when we lie, or steal or sleep with someone else’s spouse, we end up getting hurt and we hurt others.  God doesn’t want to see bad things happen to any of us.  God wants good, happy lives for us.  Knowing this, Moses even goes so far as to say that other nations will envy the people of Israel, because of God’s law and because their God is so intimately involved in their lives.

Action

Maybe it’s a stretch for us to imagine anyone envying us the gift of God’s Law.  We certainly live in a time and place where many chafe at the slightest mention of rules or regulations.  We want to be “free” to do our own thing.  But, because we’re human and we’re subject to the effects of original sin, our “own thing” often ends up leading us into trouble, either by drawing us away from the Lord or hurting someone else.

On the flip side, while Jesus came to fulfill the Law, he often became irritated at those who scrupulously observed the letter of the law without an inner spirit of love, mercy or compassion.  The Lord knows we can do everything right on the outside and still be far from God and our neighbors in our hearts.

For me, living in right relationship with God and my brothers and sisters isn’t always easy.  Left to my own devices, I would wander even more often to a far country, but God’s Law is my big-picture guide for how to live, both with the Lord and all his other children as well.  What does God’s Law mean to you?