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| “Moses“ by Carlo Dolci, 1640-45 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Deuteronomy 26:16-19
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“This day the LORD, your God,
commands you to observe these statutes and
decrees.
Be careful, then,
to observe them with all your heart and with all
your soul.
Today you are making this agreement with the
LORD:
he is to be your God and you are to walk in his
ways
and observe his statutes, commandments and
decrees,
and to hearken to his voice.
And today the LORD is making this agreement with
you:
you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he
promised you;
and provided you keep all his commandments,
he will then raise you high in praise and renown
and glory
above all other nations he has made,
and you will be a people sacred to the LORD,
your God,
as he promised.”
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Commentary on Dt 26:16-19
This reading from Deuteronomy is the final
agreement in Moses’ Covenant. In it the Israelites are told by Moses that
for their part they must always follow God’s commandments and statutes.
For his part, the Lord has made them his special possession, favored above the
other nations he has made.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow
the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the
Lord!
You have commanded that your precepts
be diligently kept.
Oh, that I might be firm in the ways
of keeping your statutes!
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the
Lord!
I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I have learned your just ordinances.
I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the
Lord!
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Commentary on Ps 119:1-2, 4-5,7-8
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. Each of the
eight verses of the first strophe begins with the first letter of the Hebrew
alphabet (aleph). Each verse of the second strophe begins with the second
letter (beth), and so on for all 22 letters of the alphabet. The entire work is
in praise of the Law, and the joys to be found in keeping it. It is not
"legalism" but a love and desire for the word of God in Israel's Law,
which is the expression of the Lord's revelation of himself and his will for
man. In these opening verses, the psalmist establishes that a desire to keep
the law is a prerequisite to offering sincere praise.
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Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly
Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the
good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the
unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what
recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers and sisters only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect,
just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
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Commentary on Mt 5:43-48
This passage is the second of six examples in
St. Matthew’s Gospel of conduct demanded of the Christian disciple. The Lord
extends the understanding of Mosaic Law. He first quotes Leviticus 19:18. Jesus tells the disciples once more that their
behavior must be reflected in how they treat others and must go beyond what was
customarily understood. He tells his friends directly to love their enemies and
pray for those who persecute them (not curse them as was customary, also echoed
in Romans 12:17-21). This
exhortation differentiates Christians, who love even their enemies based upon requirements of their faith.
Jesus continues to reinterpret Mosaic Law.
Here, he goes after the closed community. He tells the disciples,
consistent with the instruction to “turn the other cheek,” to love not just
those who love us but those who are our enemies as well.
He goes on to contrast the response expected
from his disciples to the response customarily given (e.g. loving those who
love you, greeting only one’s friends), asking: “Do not the pagans do the
same?” The passage concludes with “So be perfect, just as your heavenly
Father is perfect.” He points out that to do less than that is human
nature, but our calling is to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.
Only in St. Matthew’s Gospel is the word “perfect” used. In St. Luke’s Gospel
the word is “merciful”.
CCC: Mt 5:43-44 1933, 2844; Mt
5:44-45 2303, 2608; Mt 5:44 1825, 1968, 2262; Mt 5:45 2828; Mt
5:46-47 2054; Mt 5:47 1693; Mt 5:48 443, 1693, 1968,2013, 2842
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Reflection:
Sometimes when we are in discussions with
friends or family who see the faith as “non-inclusive” we may hear retorts
like: “The best Christian that has ever been was Gandhi;” or some other epithet
intended to challenge the notion that belief in the supremacy of Christ is key
to our salvation. People taking this approach have missed something very
important that St. Matthew’s Gospel makes clear in the passage we are given
today.
There is a difference between being a good and
moral person and being a good Christian. To use an analogy, it is like
saying: “I have a rowboat in a pond and am therefore a sailor. This makes me
just like the maritime seamen who take huge ships on the seas of the
world.” Some of the ingredients are the same, both have boats (although
the scale is drastically different), and both are in a body of water; however
the size and hazards are tremendously different.
The principal differences between the good and
moral person and the good Christian are, first, what they believe about God,
and second, how they are motivated and what they expect from their lives.
We draw this distinction here because many of our brothers and sisters who
claim to be Christian are in fact good moral people who have not taken a leap
of faith.
As the Gospel tells us, the Christian follows
God in loving all his creation, that which is pleasing to the eye, to touch, to
smell and to taste and that which is not pleasing. All of the physical reality
we perceive is created by him and is therefore to be respected by us.
That includes our fellow travelers, whether they love us or not. All were
created by God, all are loved by God, and as God’s only Son shows us time and
again, all are loved equally.
The distinguishing element here is that the good
and moral person may love and respect creation too, but does so only so far as
it is seen to be in that person’s best interests or the best interests of society
in general. Here’s an example. There is an organization called PETA
(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). While it is certainly a
Christian ideal to treat animals humanely, certain radical members of this
group have gone so far as to kill people whom they thought were treating
animals inhumanely. Their reverence for the life of animals actually
exceeded their reverence for human life.
This is just one example of how morality may be
misconstrued as being analogous to Christianity. The Christian is driven
by love, and that is the underlying difference. We are asked to love God
first (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and then love others (all others, not just
those who love us). To do less would be a betrayal of Christ, who showed
us what Christian love means.
Pax
[1]
The picture
is “Moses“ by Carlo Dolci, 1640-45
[3]
The
readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm
and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
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