Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 28, 2008 - Thursday in the Third Week of Lent plus Wednesday which was mistakenly omitted
[Jeremiah 7:23-28 and Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 and Luke 11:14-23 and Matthew 5:17-19]Wednesday - February 27: What great nation has statutes and decrees that are just as this whole law which I am setting before you today? Thursday - February 28 - But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Dear Congregation! It was inevitable that someday I would skip a day and send the wrong readings. It happened for today. So, here's the one that I should have done for today, February 27 and I'll add on the one I should have sent (today) for tomorrow, Feb 28 (which you have already received but may want to read in proper sequence!) Apologies for the confusion! I did not discover my mistake till I had to preach this morning! frRB Thursday, FEBRUARY 28, 2008 - Thursday in the Third Week of Lent (repeated) [Jeremiah 7:23-28 and Luke 11:14-23] But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. I remember the first time I read Gerard Manley Hopkins' famous poem, "The Wreck of the Deutschland." The very first stanza speaks of his personal encounter with God and ends with the line, "over again I feel thy finger and I find thee...." Jesus' comment would have been familiar to his listeners because the story of Moses and the plagues inflicted on Egypt speak of it happening by "the finger of God!" That finger also makes an appearance in the Book of Daniel when it appears and writes on the wall in front of the King! Certainly "the hand of the Lord" is an expression that depicts God's power moving in human persons and situations in the scriptures. In the gospel scripture for today, the context is a comparison of powers! First of all, Jesus disposes of the illogical notion that he was operating according to "the prince of demons" since Satan wouldn't want his own creatures to cast him out! So, then, how DID Jesus cast out demons? The answer is "by the finger of God" and it means that in the person of Jesus the Kingdom of God has arrived. I remember my own struggles as a student trying to decide about religious life and the insistent pressure of that "finger of God." Hopkins' describes a similar experience. The people in the crowds were seeing that finger at work and yet remained uncertain. Perhaps we can ask ourselves about the presence of the "finger of God" in our own lives and how we find God in that way. AMEN and WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2008, which I mistakenly omitted. [Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 and Matthew 5:17-19] What great nation has statutes and decrees that are just as this whole law which I am setting before you today? One may visit a particular museum in Washington, D.C., and see original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution displayed in special cases. These are "sacred" civil documents for our nation. We take great pride in them. The constitution has its own set of reading Deuteronomy today and listening to Jesus' comments about the law of Moses in the gospel, we might be tempted to say the same thing (erroneously) about Judaism and (sadly once in awhile) about Catholicism: "A faith of laws and not of humans!" The Law of Moses was the glory of the Jewish people. Hence the boast above from Deuteronomy! There are supposed to be 613 precepts in the Torah (the law of Moses). The Pharisees were the major Jewish group that survived the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70AD and their passion for observance is what saved Judaism from disappearing after the disastrous rebellion against Rome. However, some Jews came to believe in Jesus and the pastoral question had to arise: What do we do about observing the law of Moses? For St. Paul, the answer was clear. The law no longer obligated. In the Gospel of Matthew the response is more subtle, Jesus is the fulfillment of the law which is summed up in the dual command to love God and neighbor. The law doesn't disappear, it is personified in Jesus and the Kingdom. Of course, this message was not universally accepted by Jews but it was the response given to the Jewish converts. I'm afraid we Catholics have more than 613 precepts of various forms in the Code of Canon Law (which has 1752 articles) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which has 2865 in my copy)! Those are just the foundational laws, which are meant to interpret Jesus' teachings!!!! Not to mention all the liturgical rules, etc. etc. One wonders how we navigate all of this! (I have, in addition, the constitutions of my Dominican Order - in which we take great pride, too!) I think we just try to keep Jesus in mind and celebrate the sacraments in which we encounter him plus encounter him in our acts of charity. We leave all the rules to those whose job it is to keep track of them and remind us occasionally to observe certain ones for certain reasons. That may be the best most of us can do! AMEN
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