Often, in our Sunday readings from Scripture, we hear a story or a parable that really strikes us, that captures our imagination, or that touches our heart. Last Sunday, Jesus told his disciples: You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of world. Those images of salt and light appeal to our imagination and speak to us on many different levels. But, today, we have a very different situation. This Sunday we are struck with some very complex readings that are not warm and fuzzy. Today’s readings are not easy to wrap our minds around.
Think of something simple and commonplace that we do every time we worship together as Catholics. At weekend Mass, we have a procession that leads us into the church. We often think of the procession as you the faithful in the pews rising from your seats and singing an entrance hymn as the priests, servers, and lector process into the sanctuary. But we can see the procession in a different light. We can see the procession truly beginning with all of us getting up on Sunday morning and getting reading to come to church. Sometimes our mornings are hectic and stressful; sometimes they are calm and comforting. We get up in the morning , we shower, we get dressed, and we eat breakfast. Some of us may sit in silence or pray in order to get ready for mass. Then, we come in our cars, some of us coming from different towns and counties in the Jackson area, making our way to church. Do we see ourselves in procession to church as we leave our homes and get ready? Do we see ourselves in procession to the church when someone cuts us off in traffic or when someone is rude to us or when we are having a stressful day?
As we think about that, let’s look at the refrain in today’s psalm: Blessed are those who follow the law of the Lord. That sounds so simple. As Christ’s disciples, we probably all want to follow God’s law, but we know that it isn’t always easy. We learn God’s law, we start following it by the way we initially understand the law, and as we grow in our faith, our understanding of the law penetrates our hearts. I think about my time in seminary. I pride myself in being a good student, and I can honestly say that in seminary, I gave it my best shot; I did very well academically and in the formation process. Yet, I can remember the very first Sunday mass I did on my own, a Sunday morning mass at St Richard in Jackson. After I processed into the church, took my place at the presider’s chair, and saw about 500 faces looking back at me, I started to panic. I thought: How did I think I could do this? Fortunately, I got through that mass just fine. Yet, over time, even to this day, I continue to grow in my understanding of the mass and grow in my love of the Mass day after day as I continue my journey of faith as a priest. As I celebrate the Mass almost every day as a priest, it continues to penetrate my heart in different ways. That how it is supposed to be with God’s law. As we journey in faith, we are called to grow in our love and understanding of his law.
In the Gospel today, Jesus doesn’t throw out the law, but rather brings nuance and fullness to God’s law. Jesus speaks out in opposition to a strict legalistic interpretation not only of God’s law, but also of how we understand God operating in our lives. The Pharisees knew about God’s laws against things like adultery, murder, and false witness. They knew the letter of the law, but they created clever interpretations and loopholes which kept these laws from penetrating their hearts. Jesus calls us to a new life in him each day, not just one time in the waters of baptism, but in our new life in Christ that is renewed in us each day in which God's law continues to convert our hearts. Jesus envisions a world where we proclaim God’s kingdom in the here and now, in which we love our neighbor and reach out to our enemy, in which we work toward strong marriages and stable families, in which joy and peace are proclaimed to all. Jesus calls us to strive toward perfection under God’s law as we journey in faith each day. Jesus proclaims that he has come to fulfill his Father’s law, knowing of the salvation and redemption we will achieve through his death and resurrection.
We are called to grow in our understanding of God’s law, to allow it to penetrate our hearts, to be blessed by God's law under which we live out our faith.
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