Word to the Wise
Monday, October 10, 2016 - Monday in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1 and Luke 11:29-32]For freedom Christ has set us free; so stand firm and to not submit again to the yoke of slavery. [Galatians]
Much of my life has been spent in one way or another connected with higher education or the law. Achievement was to be measured by high grades or written rules. In either case, effort was required (and still is) to attain success. No effort, no success. This way of looking at things is nothing new. We see it in the Letter to the Galatians which provides today's first scripture. St. Paul was raised as a Pharisee, someone who sincerely believed that strict observance of the Law of Moses was the only way to be righteous in the sight of God. When he experienced the vision of Christ on the road to Damascus, he completely rejected this way of life and looked back on his former way of life as a "yoke of slavery." Later on, others would pick up on the question of human effort as a means of "earning" salvation - the Pelagians. There are folks today who still feel that God is counting our efforts in a quantifiable way and salvation is a matter of gaining enough "points" to be admitted through the pearly gates. The Protestant Reformation was, in no small part, a rejection of this way of looking at things.
Salvation is a matter of faith and a relationship with God which expresses itself in love of God and neighbor. We do not have to "earn" God's love, but we do need to realize what it means for our lives with our neighbors. Living all the "rules" of Catholic faith without caring for other human persons is not going to help the relationship with God. As Pope Francis reminds us, when we reach out to our neighbor by works of mercy, we "touch the very flesh of Christ." It's not a matter of earning something but rather of expressing something. St. Paul wanted the Galatians to reject those who ignored Christ and emphasized Mosaic observance. Our rich Catholic tradition of worship and prayer and customs can provide a vocabulary of faith, but it cannot substitute for love of neighbor in whom we meet the Lord as surely as we meet him sacramentally. AMEN
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