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
