Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21; Gal 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62]For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters. But do not use this freedom a an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'
Every parent or teacher has heard these words, "Do I HAVE to?" The teacher can often point to written rules on a poster in the classroom. Mom and Dad sometimes point to what everyone else is doing! We Catholics have all kinds of "rules" about things. Some of them are really only pious customs that have attained the "force of law" just by being habitual! Others pertain to important aspects of sacramental life. The difficulty that many Catholics have is in distinguishing between the various "rules" so that things not really required are seen as absolutely necessary! There is a humorous saying in our church, "Everything is forbidden until it is permitted and then it is mandatory!"
The Mosaic Law was not simply a list of 613 "commandments." It was (and still is for Judaism) a way of life. The Pharisees were laypersons who specialized in meticulous observance of these precepts. If a particular conduct was not forbidden, it was permitted. However, everyday life was very much controlled by household provisions in the law. St. Paul was a Pharisee until his conversion. He realized that his faith in Christ replaced the necessity of a written law, even if that law had been given to Moses by God! Faith in Christ meant that all conduct was to be governed by the law of love: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The removal of all the written observances, however, was not a sign that "anything goes!" The "freedom" that came from not having to observe the Mosaic Law was not a license for immorality!
The Ten Commandments still retain their force not because they are written but because they represent a minimum wisdom that any community must have in order to hold together! There is a wide range of common sense in the Old Testament that is very important to Christian faith and daily life! The words, "HAVE TO," remind us that there are consequences to our behavior in the law of love. If our lives are governed only by what is "legal" we know that terrible things can happen: both abortion and capital punishment are "legal" in this country! Terrible violence that does not fit in the category of "illegal" occurs daily in families and workplaces. If we find ourselves saying, "There's no law against it!", we'd better ask if the law of love has anything to say about it. Our failure to follow that law which comes from Christ, can have far worse consequences in the long term! AMEN