As I reflected on our readings for today, the final line
of the second reading, “For the Spirit scrutinizes
everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2: 10),
resonated with me. It reminded me of a quotation
that the psychiatrist Carl Justav Jung had inscribed
over the front door of his house and on his tomb,
VOCATUS ATQUE NON VOCATUS DEUS
ADERIT. Bidden or not bidden God is present. The
author of Sirach in our first reading says something
similar, “Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is
mighty in power, and all-seeing. The eyes of God are
on those who fear him; he understands man's every
deed” (Sir 15:18-19).
The themes of today’s readings are freedom and the law. The author of Sirach
reminds us that, “God in the beginning created human beings and made them
subject to their own free choice (Sir 15: 14). HOWEVER, no matter how much
freedom of choice we have, we are still subject to rules, regulations, laws,
statutes and our social and cultural norms.
The kingdom of heaven has laws too. They are the Ten Commandments and
the Laws of Moses found in the first five books of the Old Testament. In
today's gospel, Matthew 5: 17 - 37, Jesus tells his disciples and he tells us that
he came to fulfill the law and the words of the prophets. He proposes a new
order, a new way of looking at the world built on what came before. His
fulfillment of the law set a new standard. In the kingdom of heaven, it is not
good enough for us to observe the letter of the law like the scribes and
Pharisees. Jesus asks us to embrace the Spirit of the law, to look beyond the
actual words and internalize the values that underpin the law.
Jesus defined the Spirit of the law in Matthew 22: 36 – 40 when he told an
ambitious young Pharisee “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first
commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
If we embrace the idea that no matter what we are doing or where we are, God
is present and that God understands our “every deed,” and that “the Spirit
scrutinizes everything,” then we should be motivated to behave accordingly.
Imagine what our world would look like if everything we did was defined by
our love of God and love of neighbor. Then, truly, we will live in the Kingdom
of God.
Lord God, loving father,
In your Son Jesus, you have shown us
how we should seek and fulfill your loving will.
Help us respond to your love from the depths of our hearts
and to be faithful to you in all that we do.
Reconcile us to one another.
Make us respectful of one another
and attentive to the needs of people,
even when they remain indifferent and thankless.
Show us the way to bring your love and mercy to our world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
