9th
Sunday A, 2008
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In the Holy Land, you can see Jews who wear a little box strapped to their forehead with a headband and another to their hand.
We can presume that inside these boxes are miniature versions of the Law of Moses.
These people are following the instruction of Moses we heard in the first reading: “let these words of mine remain in your heart and in your soul; fasten them on your hand as a sign and on your forehead as a circlet”
Moses put a question to the people: ‘what does the Lord your God ask of you?
And he answered it:
Only this, to fear the Lord your God, to follow his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul to keep the commandments and laws of the Lord’
At that time — when Moses spoke these words to them they were at the end of their long Exodus from Egypt and about to enter the Promised Land.
They have known about God for only about 40 years, since Moses presented himself to them in Egypt and told them that he had a message for them from the God of their fore-fathers.
So God was still quite new to them.
God wanted to keep his chosen people close to himself so that they would have time to come to know him and experience his presence.
He did not want them to join the idol-worshipers in the other nation around them and so loose them before they had time to develop a deeper relationship.
Down the centuries this relationship grew and they learned that their lives were tied up with God;
that it was better to go with the flow of God and live according to the laws of nature and the divine commandments than to kick against them.
They thought of course that God was for them only.
But we, the believers of today, are the beneficiaries of this long relationship between God and the people of Israel.
Jesus the Messiah was accepted by the Apostles because he fitted into their history and through Jesus our lives are tied up with God.
The relationship between God and humankind continues to develop.
When Jesus preached the Good News, he was addressing a people, whose knowledge and experience of God had matured since the days of Moses.
He could say to his contemporaries: “I give you a new commandment; love one another as I have loved you.”
instead of living by rules they were asked to live by love.
If we all loved each other there would be little need for rules and laws, because everyone would be busy with what was good for another.
We in the 21st century have to mature still in order to see the law of love implemented around the world.
Humankind’s understanding of God’s ways has to grow deeper, the relationship become more trusting more intimate.
We, who believe, are called to be leaders and beacons to others;
to develop and keep alive our relationship with God, with Jesus who calls us to be his friends and brothers and sisters; and with his Blessed Mother who calls us to be her children trusting ourselves to her daily care and guidance as our Mother.
Fr Tibor Szende
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