Jesus and the Law
The law plays a huge role in the ministry of Jesus, and it may even be safe to say that it is a subtext of every pronouncement that he made. Still, as the gospel passage from Matthew 5: 17-19 suggests, when it came to matters of the law there were some people for whom Jesus could do no right. But then there were those who honestly questioned whether Jesus really did mean to do away with the law. To them it seemed that Jesus chipped away at it with his subtle and not so subtle critiques. But in fact when Jesus denied that he had come to abolish the law, he meant it.
Our own attitude toward the law can be as tricky as it was for the Israelites of Jesus’ day. Like them, we have our own Pharisees, and sometimes they are us. We use the law as a weapon against one another even as we recognize its value in keeping our society and our Church civil. In all of our arguments and debates, however, it’s always important to recall that Jesus really did reverence the law. That’s why he did not hesitate to add one more statute to our already thick law books. “Love one another, as I have loved you.”
NOTES
+Last week I had a rather full calendar, in addition to the stuff I do in my day job. On March 9th I and a fellow staff member at Saint John’s University participated in our regular dinner-meeting of Johnnie Brothers, a gathering of nine first-year students.
+On March 10th I presided and preached at the abbey Mass, and today’s post is an adaptation of the message I delivered that day.
+On March 11th I flew to Los Angeles, and it was my first trip away from Saint John’s in a year and five days. I was surprised to find the airports in Minneapolis and Los Angeles crowded, but things were orderly and people were patient, which was reassuring. Ironically, shortly after arrival in Los Angeles I participated in a zoom meeting of members of the Order of Malta, who just happened to be in California.
+On March 12th I gave a talk to incoming members of the Western Association of the Order of Malta. This too was via zoom.
+Lest anyone whether I flew to California solely for zoom meetings with people from California, on March 13th I met in person with a small group of members In Obedience of the Subpriory of Our Lady of Philermo of the Order of Malta. We met in Pasadena, where I gave two talks and said Mass. I will do a repeat presentation for members in San Francisco next weekend.
+During Lent the character of the decorations in the abbey church changes rather dramatically. Reflecting the spare winter landscape and the tone of Lent, for decoration we rely on bare tree branches rather flowers.