How often do we trim Scripture to suit our own needs?
In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses’ instructions to the people are very clear: In your observance of the commandments, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Moses assures them that if they observe the commandments carefully, they will give evidence of their wisdom and intelligence to the nations. But human beings tend toward casuistry, using problematic reasoning to arrive at the conclusions we want. The people of Israel will wander for forty years in the desert because they do not follow the “ten words” (as the commandments were known), instead rewriting God’s law when it is convenient for them and bending the commandments so that they fit their own desires and make sense within their own parameters. Moses would much rather see them remain faithful to the Lord’s words, walking blamelessly and doing justice, as Psalm 15 suggests. The psalm offers a useful self-examination of one’s relationship to God’s laws and to God’s people.
By Jesus’ time, the commandments have been augmented by the Jewish leadership to a list of 613 laws that all Jewish people must observe. In Mark’s Gospel, we again see evidence of casuistry: the Jewish authorities are too caught up in the rules they have constructed to recall God’s original intent, which was to establish guidelines for relationship. The leaders want to maintain Jewish identity and culture while they are under the control of the Romans, but they are carried away by their own casuistry. And so, they ask Jesus questions like, Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands? The scribes and Pharisees are missing the point entirely; Jesus calls them hypocrites, all the while hoping that they will one day find their way back to the God of relationship again.
If only the scribes and the Pharisees themselves were paying attention to the lessons of Psalm 15, they might learn to do justice and thus live in the presence of the Lord. The psalmist knows that human beings must adhere to the truth in their heart, slander not, harm not their fellow man, or lend money at usury. These lessons of relationship are no less important in the Letter of James, which reminds us to conduct our own self-examination of our relationship to God’s laws and to God’s people: Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Real religion, James concludes, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. True, authentic faith that is faithful to Scripture involves a heart open and humble before God, with dedication to serve those most in need.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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