The Spirit of the Law
Homily for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
When we think of the second reading for Sundays, we usually think of the reading from the New Testament oftentimes by St. Paul. However, this is a common mistake, for the second reading is really the psalm response that immediately follows the first reading. Sr. Irene Nowell, in her book Sing a New Song, calls to mind the fact that the children of Israel would frequently burst into song whenever they experienced God’s action in their lives. She asks the question, then, of how the songs of Israel function in today’s Christian community. Many of the commentaries on the psalms point out that this particular book from the Hebrew Scriptures might as well have been baptized itself because these psalms or songs have found a distinct place in the life of the Church. Every Eucharistic liturgy includes at least one excerpt from the Book of Psalms, and the Liturgy of the Hours, which every member of the clergy or of a religious congregation prays every day, is composed almost exclusively of the canticals and psalms of the Hebrew Scriptures.
In today’s liturgy for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church asks us to use Psalm 15 as our response to the first reading. This particular psalm is an entrance liturgy. Any child of Israel who sought to participate in the temple liturgy, asked the entrance requirements before presuming to take a place in the courtyard before the Holy of Holies. The ceremony functions something like the penitential rite in the Eucharistic liturgy. It is both instruction and an examination of conscience. To participate in the worship of the Lord one must agree to live by the Lord’s Law. Psalm 15 is a little list which is both a summary and the sample of the Law.
The prospective worshiper asks a question at the beginning of this prayer. “Who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?” When speaking of the Temple of Jerusalem, a Jew would frequently use the word “tent” as a substitute for the word “temple” in memory of the time when the Jews would gather for liturgical prayer in a meeting tent which was pitched just outside their camp. They spoke of the Temple of Jerusalem as God’s holy mountain because King Solomon had built the temple atop Mount Zion. In effect, the person asking the question realizes that in order to be permitted to enter into the presence of the Lord, it is first necessary to determine if the petitioner has kept the commandment to love one’s neighbor.
There are ten parts to the answer, thereby suggesting a kind of Decalogue and reminding the questioner of the Ten Commandments. Temple ceremonies are useless if love for one another is absent, for one cannot truly say that they love God if they do not love their neighbor. The Psalm may lead us to despair. Who could ever be admitted to worship if such perfection is demanded? However, the demand of the psalm is rather one of acceptance and commitment. In other words, “Do you agree to live like this?” The focus of the psalm is on the present and the future rather than the past.
Obviously, our own entrance rite functions in the same way. We call to mind our sins and proclaim that God is merciful. The other three readings for today’s liturgy raise concerns about obedience to the Law. However, if we take our cue from the Psalm response, the readings point us toward a consideration of the Law as a guide rather than a simple list of do’s and don’ts. The Pharisees in the Gospel text have been distracted by the letter of the Law. The prescriptions and customs have become more important than the goal of the Law. Such an attitude is no substitute for the heart of the Law or the spirit of the Law. External observance is necessary but is never more important than internal disposition. The Letter of St. James states the principal clearly. The Law is a great gift of God. We must commit ourselves to give flesh to the Law of God in our lives. Our treatment of other people, especially the weakest among us, reveals the presence of God in our lives. It is the one who does what is right who lives in the presence of the Lord.
The greatness of God’s gift of the Law is sometimes lost on us. We see the Law as a hindrance or restriction rather than as a key to freedom. We have the mistaken notion that if the Law did not limit us, we could be completely happy. To appreciate the Law, try this: reverse the statements of Psalm 15 – one who speaks falsehood, slanders a neighbor, defames a friend, honors the wicked, disdains the good. Is this really the way to happiness? Or is it really true that whoever does what is right shall never be shaken, shall live in the presence of the Lord?
Both the reading from the Book of Deuteronomy and the reading from the Gospel of St. Mark remind us that we may not add to or subtract from God’s Law. Psalm 15, therefore, is not to be seen as another set of commandments but rather an attempt to give the commandment to love one’s neighbor a practical application. The heart of the Law is found in the two great commandments – to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The question must be asked whether we have become distracted by the letter of the law and have lost any consideration of the foundation of love which is implicit in the two great commandments. In other words, we must receive one another as if we were receiving God. We must ask ourselves the question whether we can worthily receive communion if we have failed to receive one another. The very reason we come to the Eucharistic liturgy is communion – we wish to unite ourselves with the body and blood of Jesus, but we can only do so if we have shown our love for one another.
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