"I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts."
John 12: 20- 33
The Word for Sunday: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031818-year-b.cfm
We are a country of laws.
We speak about a land of “law and order.” There are laws about everything, they govern
our lives, direct our actions, and are intended to maintain the boundaries in
which citizens behave which hopefully creates a land of peace and harmony.
We speak of the natural law - the forces that guide our bodies
and the universe around us. It keeps
planets apart from each other in orbits, the law of gravity keeps everything
fixed on earth lest we go flying off into space and crashing into one
another. We have laws that guide our
traffic, our tax system, our use of land, our homes, etc. Without certain established directions and
boundaries we simply become governed by nothing other than our base
instincts.
In the Church we have Canon Law which governs our lives as
Catholics. It helps us to understand the
deeper meaning of God’s superior Law and how we can live out what he asks of
us. Church laws govern the sacraments, our parishes, the formation of priests,
the governing of a Diocese by the Bishop, etc.
Yet the final goal and purpose is the salvation of souls.
This final Sunday of Lent before Holy Week begins next week
finds the voice of Jeremiah the prophet speaking of God’s desire to “Make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and the house of Judah.” Then in a divine longing for relationship with us,
God speaks through Jeremiah: “I will
place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God
and they will be my people.”
What do you see in these words?
I imagine a kind of sculptor at work on a piece of marble. He chisels away an indelible image of
beauty. He breathes upon the work and
forms it according to his personal imagining.
Certainly, the name of the Renaissance genius Michelangelo comes to
mind, his famed statue of David, carved from one piece of marble and that of
the Pieta, depicting the crucified body of Jesus in the arms of his
mother. Although made of stone, they
appear to be alive. Such it is with the
law of God that Jeremiah speaks of in our first reading.
The law of the “new covenant” is not a restriction or a
punishment. God in this passage desires
an intense relationship with humanity.
He wants to reform a people and build a deeper bond on communion with
them. He want to imprint his law on the
hearts of all in the way that a genius sculptor forever forms and imprints his
minds image marble of stone. Yet, human
hearts are not made of stone so our Creator desires to live in the hearts of
all.
However, how idealistic this sounds. Jeremiah’s words imply that God will implant
an innate understanding of God and that everything that should be done will be
seen in the attitudes and behavior of people.
That law is living and God desires to write it upon our hearts that we
might naturally follow in his way. They
will know that God is God for them and that they are particularly chosen for
him. It is about a law of love and relationship between God and humanity.
While that may sound wonderful we certainly cannot deny the
extent of violence and brokenness in our world. Despite our innate sense of who
God is and who we are in relationship to him, not all will follow that law.
Yet, by reflection we know instinctively that in the conscience
of every human person there is this innate sense of what is right and what is
wrong. We have a sense of fairness,
justice and we know what kindness and compassion are like. We know that love means a particular intimacy
with another person that is not just expressed physically but is supported by
our care for them and our respect.
Where did that come from?
Are we born with this? Yes, but
still sin and its affects remain before us.
The passage from Jeremiah ends with a statement of God’s mercy: “I will
forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more. We are a broken people
in need of a Savior.
The Gospel passage from John implies the outpouring of Jesus: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will
draw everyone to myself.” The Gospel seems a collection of saying by Jesus,
though, about the demands of discipleship: sacrifice, detachment, service. In
the end Christ himself is the ultimate example of discipleship and the pouring
out of his life on the Cross become the sign of that new covenant in his blood.
So, at the Last Supper he was about to finally set things right
for there he took the bread and wine, established the Holy Eucharist in the new
covenant of “my blood.” He has given
himself to us in the new and final for all time sign of his love in and through
his Church as he poured out his life for us on the cross. The Holy Eucharist is
Christ in our midst intimately connected with us and there he calls us to “lawful”
thankfulness.
The sacred law, and all that Christ has done for us, is to keep our hearts open and receptive to God. If we follow our own "law," we're on our own. If we follow in his Way, we have his presence in our lives.
Let us pray:
The sacred law, and all that Christ has done for us, is to keep our hearts open and receptive to God. If we follow our own "law," we're on our own. If we follow in his Way, we have his presence in our lives.
Let us pray:
By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,
may we walk eagerly in that same charity
with which out of love for the world,
your Son handed himself over to death.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
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