Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
(Deuteronomy
4:1,5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)
In an
important new book on Exodus, humanist Leon Kass lists three essentials for a
nation. A nation must have a founding
narrative to give the people an ideal to emulate. It must have laws to guide the people day by
day. And it must have ritual in which
the people can realize at least in a preliminary way their hopes. Today’s readings focus on the second of these
building blocks.
Moses
reminds the people of what a truly great gift their law is. It comes from God who is as close to them as
they are to each other. It proves to be
just by keeping together these different families and tribes. Jesus reasserts the value of the law. He will not abolish an iota of it although he
makes some significant emendations. They
are not only to love their neighbors but their enemies as well. They are not only prohibited from adultery,
but from looking at women with lust.
Christians
form a people and a nation but not one that competes with the nation-states of
today. It is as if we can had dual
nationalities – one where we live and work and the other to which we aspire
when we die. In fact, the second – our
eternal nation – enables us to be better citizens of the first. Its laws form our moral code. They form us more completely than the laws of
the state because they demand inner compliance.
They put us in touch with our God who makes us honest, noble, and
patriotic.
