Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 5-9
Faithfulness to the Law: God's Closeness to His People
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(Moses said to the people:) [1] "And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you. [2] You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. [5] Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. [6] Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' [7] For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? [8] And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?
The Revelation at Horeb
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[9] "Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children."
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Commentary:
4:1-8. Having recalled the main events in Israel's journey from Sinai-Horeb onwards, in which God's special providence was evident, the text now stresses the privileged position of the Hebrew people, chosen as they are by God from among all the nations of the earth, and enabled to draw near to him in a close relationship quite beyond the experience of the Gentiles.
The passage acts as an advance exhortation to fidelity to the Law, the core of which will be recorded later on (5:1-6; 6; 12:1-28:68); it may have been inserted in the course of a revision of the book. The main argument it makes in favor of keeping the Law is the fact that God is so near his people and so accessible to them (vv. 7-8).
4:6-8. The theme of these verses is typical of Wisdom writing. The very life of Israel, shaped as it is by obedience to the Law, will be an eloquent lesson for all other nations. This message, open and out-reaching, implies a universal mission for the chosen people, a message which looks far ahead and will find its fulfillment in the future spread of the Church throughout the world.
4:9-14. This section concentrates on a line of teaching found throughout holy Scripture: salvation history is based on the will of God who on his own initiative offers a Covenant, to the chosen people. The key points in this Covenant have to do with Abraham (Gen 17:1-14) and Moses (Ex 19-24) and they culminate in the futture New Covenant in Jesus Christ (Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). The promulgation of the Law on Sinai-Horeb is a product of the Covenant: God promises the people of Israel protection, a land of their own, etc. Because a covenant or pact is involved, certain things are laid down that the people must do: these are contained in the precepts of the Law. God will be true to the promises he makes, but the people never decide. whether to be faithful or unfaithful. According to this passage the Law consists in the Ten Commandments (v. 13).
On the events of Baal-Peor, cf. Num 25:1-18.
From: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [17] "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly I say to you, till Heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. [19] Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."
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Commentary:
17-19. In this passage Jesus stresses the perennial value of the Old Testament. It is the word of God; because it has a divine authority it deserves total respect. The Old Law enjoined precepts of a moral, legal and liturgical type. Its moral precepts still hold good in the New Testament because they are for the most part specific divine-positive promulgations of the natural law. However, our Lord gives them greater weight and meaning. But the legal and liturgical precepts of the Old Law were laid down by God for a specific stage in salvation history, that is, up to the coming of Christ; Christians are not obliged to observe them (cf. "Summa Theologiae", I-II, q. 108, a. 3 ad 3).
The law promulgated through Moses and explained by the prophets was God's gift to His people, a kind of anticipation of the definitive Law which the Christ or Messiah would lay down. Thus, as the Council of Trent defined, Jesus not only "was given to men as a redeemer in whom they are to trust, but also as a lawgiver whom they are to obey" ("De Iustificatione", can. 21).