Trying to observe all the commandments God sets before humankind can be complicated. Because God created all us with free will, so that we could choose freely to love God rather than be obliged to do so, we must also take responsibility for every choice we make. As the author of Sirach states, Before man are life and death, good and evil; whichever he chooses shall be given him. God’s commandments exist for a reason; they are not laws, but guides to help build a community that will sustain itself and thrive. In order to preserve that community – which has God at the core – we must work always to discern what is right and just, and to choose accordingly. Psalm 119 echoes the teachings set forth by Sirach: Blessed are they whose way is blameless,… who seek the Lord with all their heart. God’s instructions to us are clear: God wants his precepts to be diligently kept by those who consider the wonders of God’s law and strive to keep his commandments with all their heart.
Fortunately, as Paul tells the Corinthians, God sets a means to properly discern what is right before us: we speak God’s wisdom, Paul states, which God has revealed to us through the Spirit. Jesus is the wisdom of God, predetermined before the world began, yet known only to more recent generations. And, as Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel, Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill it. By dying and rising, Jesus makes all things new, thus showing us the way to the kingdom of God. But again, free will means that we must take responsibility for every choice we make: whether we are angry with our brother, or living in a state of adulterous desire, or tempted to swear or take a false oath, we must ask the Holy Spirit for assistance. Jesus is the best expression of God’s wisdom, and that wisdom is God’s love for humankind. If, then, we strive to see as God sees, if we are open to God and to God’s will for us, we will see what God reveals to us through the Spirit, and make choices that are in accord with God’s will. It’s not simple, but it will get us to heaven!
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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