Dear Friends,
Our readings today take their cue from a phrase in
Deuteronomy 30: “Hear O Lord,” says Yahweh. “I have set before you life and
prosperity, death and doom. Choose life and you will live.”
No one of us would ever deny we want to choose life. The
problem is recognizing what life really is.
In the work of creating life, our culture embraces the
new. “New” is the most frequently used word in marketing. The
second most frequently used word is “improved.” Most of the time, they
go together: new and improved. And whatever is new and improved appeals
to the listener, the reader, the consumer as superior to what is being
replaced. Newness sells.
Jesus did not have much market appeal when he told His
listeners in the Sermon on the Mount that he did not come to abolish the Law
and the prophets but to fulfill them. At first glance, it seems there was
nothing new and improved about that, but actually there was. What was new was
that Jesus was bent on fulfilling the Law, not merely literally keeping it.
We know from other Gospel stories that Jesus broke the rules
of ritual obligation on numerous occasions – when these did not serve
compassion and human need. Jesus was that free.
But when the Law touched the essence of human life and
relationships, Jesus reinterpreted the Law in a far more demanding way.
Jesus tells us today that when we denigrate, despise, exclude,
refuse to communicate honestly, we do violence to others. These may not be
murder – but they are destructive behaviors. Evasions, deceit and half-truths
weaken the fabric of integrity that holds life together. Jesus calls us to the
fullness of the Law – to make free choices that are wise and generous and
interpret the Law in a freeing, creative way.
Years ago, the movie Amadeus contrasted Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart with another composer of stature named Antonio Salieri. Salieri
composed carefully with attention to form. He played with great technical
precision. Salieri kept the law of musical composition and rendition. Mozart
also knew the rules of music, but he was not burdened by them.
In one of the film’s pivotal scenes, Mozart added a few
touches of this genius to one of Salieri’s compositions, and gave his listeners
a lively, memorable melody. Mozart’s innovation increased Salieri’s animosity
and according to the story, blocked Mozart from the king’s favor. Increased
poverty, illness and finally the death of Mozart at 35 followed.
As a rule-keeper, Salieri resented Mozart’s
reinterpretations of musical law and his free spirit. Both Jesus and Mozart
would have led easier, longer lives if they had adhered to the letter of the
law. But the fulfillment of the Law, the grasp of the depth of the law was more
important to them.
Scanning the many incidents in the Gospel where the opponents
of Jesus deride Him for His attitude toward the Law, we see that, for Jesus, fulfilling
the Law has to do with being creative in our human relationships, taking the
initiative in bringing about reconciliation, recognizing that external actions
are good or bad depending on what’s in the heart and mind of the person
interpreting the law.
It takes a certain wisdom to live like this. Paul today
encourages us to find and put into practice the wisdom of God in all that we do. This
wisdom is cultivated by each person who makes a commitment to choosing life.
~Sister Joan Sobala
