"Take Care and Be Earnestly on Your Guard"

March 7, 2018

After successfully delivering the Ten Commandments to his people, Moses tells them:

(T)ake 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.

Many centuries later, Christ in today’s Gospel tells his disciples at the Sermon on the Mount that he has not come to abolish the Mosaic law, but rather to fulfill it.

Thanks to the grace extended by Christ’s death and Resurrection, we as Catholics do not observe the fully elaborate codes set down by Moses; we are not bound to make burnt offerings, for example. The holy blood shed in Christ’s ultimate sacrifice eliminates the need for these.

Even so, Jesus reinforces the design of the Ten Commandments when he says,

"(W)hoever breaks one of the least of these commandments

and teaches others to do so

will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments

will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Infused with the radical mercy brought by Jesus, the laws on the stone tablets are vivified and given a deeper meaning. More than a moral code enforced to keep society in line, they now open the door to contemplation of the “why” behind each commandment.

Why should we not steal?

Why should we honor our parents?

Why should we not kill?

Why should we not covet?

And what is our responsibility to those who break the commandments? We do not shun then; we do not stone them. We try to teach them and lift them up, through the mercy and forgiveness conveyed by Christ’s example, so they may sin and hurt no more.

Art above: Moses Smashing the Tables of the Law by Gustave Doré [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

http://www.serrainternational.org/content/take-care-and-be-earnestly-your-guard

Homily of the Day

March 7, 2018

Both readings speak of the value of obedience to the norms and laws given by Yahweh: those who keep these laws and teach others to obey these laws will be greatly rewarded. The people of Israel are truly privileged in their special relationships with God who has given them the commandments: “Is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today?”

Jesus tells his disciples that he has come not “to remove the Law and the Prophets” but “to fulfill them.” For Israel the “Law and the Prophets” include the commandments given to Moses. In addition many other procedural and external practices have been added. Jesus wished to teach and stress the essentials of the Law.

May the Lord grant us the grace, wisdom and strength to fulfill this great responsibility of living according to God’s laws and norms and of teaching and leading others under our care to do the same. May we also be able to discern and recognize what is essential and what is merely procedural and external.