FRIDAY AFTER CREATION 1
13 September 2013
Readings:
Key Verses (using the World English Bible):
Amos 5:15: “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts.”
Luke 11:42: “[W]oe to you Pharisees! For you… bypass justice and God’s love.”
Reflection
Love and justice are two of the Bible’s most important themes. Amos was right to see a link between the two. Drawing from his Hebrew heritage, Amos knew that loving your neighbor as yourself means treating him (or her) fairly, for surely none of us wants to be treated unjustly. At a time when Israel’s relative prosperity had led to dishonest commerce, oppression of the poor and needy, and neglect of “inconvenient” holy days (cf. Amos 8:4-7), Amos shouted for justice. The famous cry, “Let justice roll on like rivers, and righteous like a mighty stream” comes from Amos’ hand (Amos 5:24).
Jesus, however, honed in on a disturbing side effect of justice. Too much justice can quickly diminish any room for love. Amos understood this, judging from today’s reading, but his circumstances forced justice to become the priority. But life is full of people who prioritize justice at the expense of love—and the Bible is not immune to this reality.
And so we get to the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. I can’t help but feel some sympathy for the Pharisees, even though the word has become synonymous with “hypocrite”. The Pharisees are the forefathers of rabbinic Judaism, the only successful branch of the religion to survive the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. When you’ve got next to nothing, you cling to what little you have left. Perhaps as a silent rebellion against their Roman rulers, the Pharisees sought to have the Torah, or God’s Law, rule over daily Jewish life. Their zeal for the Torah sustained Judaism after its holy city lay in ruins, even as Christianity began to enjoy a prosperity similar to Amos’ Israel.
Jesus sees right through the legalism of the Pharisees he encountered. They were reading the Torah in such a way that “you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens.” (Luke 6:46) And in so doing, they would “bypass justice and God’s love.”
Did Jesus move any of them to reevaluate their priorities? We know he did for at least one self-proclaimed Pharisee: Paul of Tarsus. Writing to the Church of Philippi, Paul confesses just how well acquainted he was with legalistic zeal, and just how Christ overturned that zeal through the power of faith. (Php. 3:4-6) Paul had striven to know the Torah backwards and forwards, but now Christ had left him yearning to know something words could never explain: “the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings” (Php. 3:11).
The Season of Creation challenges us to do the same, not just in matters of religion, but also of society. How are we treating our fellow neighbors? How can we lighten or even free them from their burdens? How can we show forth God’s justice without bypassing God’s love?
Prayer of the Day
Loving God,
you desire justice for all.
Enable us to uphold the rights of others.
Do not allow us to be misled by ignorance,
or corrupted by fear or favor.
Unite us to yourself in the bond of love,
and keep us faithful to all that is true.
May we temper justice with love,
so that all our discussions and reflections
may be pleasing to you, and earn the rewards
promised to good and faithful servants.
We ask this through your Son, Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
—adapted from the Opening Prayer of Vatican II
Hymn: “Love is light’s eternal river”
(Words: “Kærlighed er lysets kilde”, N.F.S. Grundtvig, 1853 in Den Danske Salmebog, ‘The Danish Hymnal’, 2011; translated by Joseph A. Soltero, 2013
Tune: ‘Jesu, meines Lebens Leben’, Wolfgang Wessnitzer, 1661)
Love is light’s eternal river.
Love is life’s deep-rooted flow’r.
Therefore shall God’s justice ever
Shine on us with loving pow’r.
As our Savior once declared us,
So the Spirit now has dared us:
Walk in love as Christ loved you,
Such a hope will see you through.
Love adorns the whole creation.
Love illumines heaven’s throne.
For our healing and salvation,
Love sent us God’s only Son.
Christ, the light and life of heaven,
Has for us his own self given.
Now he lives and reigns above
In his Father’s endless love.
Love shall never harm our neighbor.
Love fulfills the law’s commands,*
Joins the Spirit’s fruit and labor
Into holy, perfect bands.**
These become our seeds for sowing
Heaven’s kingdom, ever growing
Since creation was begun,
That through love we may be one.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment