Salvation in the Way that Jesus Saves

Today's first reading, Dt 4: 1, 5-9, and the Gospel, Mt 5: 17-19,  speak about the law.  Jesus tells his disciples that he has come, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.  He challenges the Pharisees for being legalistic, as legalism can kill the spirit. Love and compassion are above legalistic adherence to a law for the law's sake. An example would be a family member encouraging another family member recovering from pneumonia, for instance,  to stay home on a Sunday morning and take care of him/herself, not risking one's recovery by attending a liturgy on a Sunday morning.   A legalistic person might tell the family member that she/he  is well enough to attend Mass and must do so, obeying the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath.

Laws are made for our well-being and safety, not human beings made for the preservation and adherence to laws. The laws are there to protect us, to make us whole, to strengthen us spiritually and morally. Jesus knows the importance of laws and says to his disciples:  I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever 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."

Every time I obey the commandments, I am glorifying, honoring, praising God and God is strengthening and healing me. By my obedience, I am growing in grace and holiness, in endurance and wisdom, in intelligence and hope. In Dt 4: 1, 5-9, the author of this book encourages us to "observe [the commandments] carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statues and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.' For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" 

May you and I have the wisdom and the intelligence to follow God closely, fulfilling the law as Jesus did, bringing it to fulfillment by our love, our compassion, our mercy, our forgiveness of ourselves and others.  It is through our obedience that we will grow in our knowledge of the Lord, our God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit--and truly grow in bringing the law to fulfillment for the good of others and our own good.

Mary, Mother of Sorrows

Mary, Mother of Sorrows:  This week we are reflecting on the second sorrow of Mary, the flight into Egypt to protect her infant Son from harm.  Mary listened to Joseph when he told her that they needed to leave the placed they called home and flee into Egypt, a foreign country, unknown territory, separate from friends and family and that which felt familiar to her.  Her heart must have been heavy with grief. Displacement, under any circumstances, is discombobulating, painful and difficult.

Mary, like Jesus, knows and understands our pain when we are displaced, feel abandoned, misunderstood, isolated and left alone to fend for ourselves with no tangible support. She is an advocate for refugees, persons dislocated because of civil unrest, war, violence of any kind, natural disasters, transfers to new locations by virtue of marriage, job promotions, or, as a member of a religious community, transferred to a new mission, a new ministry, a new local community, a foreign mission. Mary goes with us! Mary knows the way through this maze of unknowing, of reaching out to strangers, of making our way in unfamiliar territory, “swimming” in uncharted waters (uncharted for us, that is). Let us tap her as a resource, as someone who can help us when we are unsure, scared, and anxious.

With her, may we have the faith to believe in others whom God provides as protectors, as persons who will lead “our donkeys through the wilderness,” will find us a place to take root and help us tap into our inner strength and creative energies to, not only survive, but thrive and discover opportunities we never would have had if we had refused to “relocate” physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically.