March 17, 2004 - Wednesday, 3rd Week of Lent

Commandments: Signs of Freedom and Love

Readings:
Dt 4:1, 5-9; Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20;
Mt 5:17-19 (Listen to MP3 - Mission of the Disciples)

Introduction

What is the meaning of the commandments to us? To some, they are the summary and summit of all morality; to others, narrow and outmoded rules; still to others, obstacles to the freedom of the gospel.

To Israel, they were the expression of fidelity to God and to the whole people as part of God's covenant. They were the road to freedom from all forms of slavery: to other gods, to selfishness, to exploitation of one person by another. They were the sign of belonging to God and God's nearness. And they were witnesses that love of God and love of neighbor cannot be separated.

In Christ, all this is fulfilled, and more. The commandments remain, but they become a basic step not to salvation by observances but to seeking communion with God in Christ and communion with our neighbor, and they are animated by love.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you have given us your commandments
to set us on the road of freedom
from all forms of alienation.
May we learn to obey them
not to save ourselves by observances
nor to do you favors,
but to be free for you and for people
and to live in your love,
with Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Dt 4:1, 5-9

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 your 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."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Gospel Reading: Mt 5:17-19 (Listen to MP3 - Mission of the Disciples)

Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

"So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven."

Commentary

"NOT the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled," said Jesus. But he himself often broke the Law-certainly as it was interpreted by his contemporaries.

When is a law perfectly fulfilled? When it is observed to the letter? Hardly. The scribes and Pharisees adhered to the letter of the Law, yet Jesus accused them of "setting aside the commands of God and clinging to human traditions" (Mk 7:8). A law is being fulfilled, surely, when the purpose for which it was made is being fulfilled. A law is a means to an end; but if the end is being subverted by the law, then it is no longer a law. This is the revolutionary teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. Law, he said, is an act of reason (ordering a means to an end), not an act of will. Law is not the grip of someone's power over you, but guidance for your mind. It subverts neither your mind nor your will, but guides you along a path. It does not take away your freedom, but supports, enlightens and defends it. This is how there can be such a thing as the law of God. There is no real opposition between law and love.

General Intercessions

- That we may learn to look at the commandments not as obstacles to our freedom, but like the people of God of old, as guidelines for fidelity and freedom, we pray:

- That we may not get entangled in the letter of the law but serve the Lord with the freedom of the sons and daughters of God as Jesus teaches us in the gospel, we pray:

- That we ask ourselves not so much what must we do but rather what can we do to for the love of God and people, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
you are near to us
in your Son Jesus Christ.
May he make us aware
of the price he paid for our freedom.
As we sit at table with him,
may he give us the grace and strength
to give you a response of freedom,
that with him we may love you
as your sons and daughters,
now and for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you have chosen us to be your people.
May your Son be alive in us,
that with him we may be faithful to you
and march forward together
to build a land of freedom
and to share with one another
until you share yourself with us for ever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Let the great commandment given us by Jesus guide our life and make it beautiful and rich: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Sprit.

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