Reflections on Paul

Number 13

After the close of the chat last evening, I turned to review the Mass readings for today. After slogging through the seemingly endless reading from Tobit, I encountered the Gospel reading for the day from Mark. Jesus was asked by a scribe about which was first of all the commandments and Jesus responded, famously, the first commandment was to “love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” And then he said, second, we are to love our neighbor as our self.

So there it was it for me - the biggest rock of all to roll around until I could find a proper resting spot for it. I was thunderstruck by the timing. Minutes after coming to the end of several weeks of study of the letters of Paul, the whole point of what he was trying to teach us jumped out of the lectionary and struck me squarely in the head.

The letter to Romans beautifully set this all up. God, we quickly learn in Chapter 1, is wrathful and will actively respond to disbelief and unfaithfulness by handing “them” (us) over to impurity, degrading passions and improper actions. From there we quickly move toward the description of a righteous God who through his justice and mercy sent us salvation from our wickedness in the form of Jesus. Over and over again, Paul reminds us all peoples, Jew and gentile alike, were initially granted God’s mercy through our creation. Through the fall of Adam we all fell from mercy into his wrath and we all became needful of his continued just judgment and mercy.

In Romans Paul continued to argue, as in the previous letters read, Jewish reliance on the law was foolish because it focused our attention on our behavior which, through the all of Adam, would never lead us toward God. To be sons and daughters of Abraham requires to not having faith in the law but, rather, to have faith in God and only in God because salvation does not come from the law but salvation comes only from God.

In Chapter 5 we learn more about faith, hope and love. If we have faith, hope in salvation will grow and hope will always be rewarded through God’s enduring life. Love becomes the first commandment 13:8-10 since we are loved and we, in turn, love, that love will govern our actions. Love will become all the law we need because if we allow love to direct us, we will fulfill the law.

With that long circle, we return to where we started with today’s Gospel. In our return, my return, to the beginning, we understand we are not governed by law. We are fulfilled in the law by God’s mercy and right justice through the faith we inherited from our father Abraham. Our fulfillment comes through saving death and resurrection of God’s only son who was sent by God restore the faith covenant made with Abraham. I think I get the message….

Peace, my brothers, and live in the joy we know only through our acceptance of faith in the Risen Christ and our willingness to respond to his call to love. While we may be sons of Abraham, we are truly the beloved children of an ever loving God. 

Peace