The Holiness Mysteries:
He taught us the Way of mercy:
1. The Two Great Commandments
Love your God & your neighbor
- Mark 12:28-34 ~ "devotion"
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has come to Jerusalem to teach in the Temple. Even before He begins, however, the priests, scribes and elders approach and challenge Him. A debate follows in which Jesus easily triumphs. Then one of the scribes draws near, asking Him to put the Law in perspective. It is an honest question. "Which commandment is the first of all?" This time, Jesus gives a straight answer. "The first is this, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength.' And the second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe, suitably impressed, affirmed and praised this answer, adding, "this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus, hearing him answer wisely, replied, "you are not far from the Kingdom of God." After that, they left and allowed Him to teach.
The Shema Y'israel is the central pillar of the Law of Moses. Every other rule is merely a way to do that, or an example of what it means. To love our neighbors is to extend God's love outward to embrace other sentient beings in the same way that God embraces us. God made us for love, to share companionship and to work together toward common goals, to share the joyful triumphs and sorrowful challenges of life through empathy and compassion. He made us to share our hopes and ideals, our thoughts about daily life and our possibilities for the future. God made us so that we could enhance his Kingdom, by adding beauty and variety, and sharing the best we have with Him, and with each other. But we must begin to fulfill this purpose while we are still here in this life, to show that we are willing.
And the way we also treat lesser beings, according to their purposes but also with kindness and compassion, shows how well we appreciate God's work in creation. Thus, we do not yoke a mule together with an ox and try to plow a field, as they may work at odds and injure each other. And the Law forbade us to muzzle an ox that treads our grain before it's threshed. We should let him eat when he is hungry. God gave us the job of being stewards of this world, after all, and how well we do that may in part determine the extent of our reward in Heaven.
2. Watch your Speech
"What you eat does not defile you, ..."
- Matthew 15:11,15-20 ~ "purity"
In the scroll of Isaiah, chapter 6, the prophet bemoans his unfitness to stand before God. "Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips from among a people of unclean lips!" And God, in his mercy, touches his mouth with a burning ember to cleanse it before sending him on a mission. This would seem to be our common condition today. Even in the media, we are exposed to profanity. If it bothers you, how do you think God feels about it?
When Jesus was disputing about ritual purity with the Pharisees, He charged them with teaching the traditions of men rather than the commands of God. Then He taught the people, "It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out of your mouth. That defiles a person, for whatever goes in passes through the belly and is then cast out, but what comes out from your mouth proceeds from your heart ..." and He lists off the sins against the commandments. Your words defile you because they reveal evil thoughts: thoughts of filth, malice, cruelty, despite, and even blasphemy. These are the things that defile a person, because they show that we have no love for one another. We feel hurt when such words are directed towards us, so why do we throw such filth and profanity at others? The "Golden Rule" applies especially to our speech, because that is the primary means by which we build or break our relationships.
Jesus did not say that following the rules of kashruth was wrong. Eating only kosher foods keeps one mindful of taking care to do what is pleasing to God. But clearly, He was annoyed by the additional rules that were accrued by tradition, like the finnicky pouring of water over one's hands and calling it "washing." If ritual purity means only acting "as if" one cares, but does nothing for making us clean, then how are we trying to love God? Saying formula prayers without considering the meanings of the words does nothing to purify our hearts. It merely makes prayer a chore, like doing homework because we must. Prayer is meant to help us to direct our hearts to God, and allow us to listen to Him.
God does not desire the outward appearance of piety. He wants us to desire to draw near to Him, and to clean ourselves up so that He can feel comfortable to come and dwell in our hearts. Once there, He can begin to make the changes that will eventually transform us into recognizable Children of God. But if we praise Him with our lips, and then revile one another whenever they displease us, are we not hypocrites? Rather let our words express kindness and concern, and build friendships. Then they will know we are Christians by our love for one another.
3. Corporal works of mercy.
"Whenever you did it to one of these, ..."
- Matthew 25:34-40 ~ "kindness"
When Jesus comes again in glory, with his legions of angels, He is going to judge the nations. Dividing us like a shepherd separating sheep from goats, He will put the accepted to his right, and the rejected to his left. To those He chooses to receive, He will say, "Welcome, my friends. When I was hungry, you fed me, and when I was thirsty, you gave me drink. You welcomed me when I was a stranger, and clothed my nakedness. You cared for me when I was sick, and visited me in prison. Well done. Come and enter into my Father's house." And the righteous will say, "When did we see you, Lord, to succor you?" And Jesus will answer, "Whenever you did these things for any of the least of my friends, you did it for Me."
But to the rejected, He will say, "Begone from Me, you wicked! You despised Me when I was poor, snubbed me when I was oppressed, and neglected Me when I needed your help!" And they will protest, "When did we ever see you and refuse to help?" Then Jesus will say, "I was begging on your streets, sleeping in your alleys, wearing rags and sick, but you had me arrested and thrown in jail. You did not care to ask who I was, nor how you could help. If you had given even a drink of water to one of my friends, for my sake, you would not have lost your reward."
Jesus is here giving us a short list exemplary of the works for how we may imitate God's mercy. There are others of which He was also aware, but He had already made those clear. In the 58th chapter of Isaiah, God requires us to pay workers a fair wage without delay, and to restrain our violence and wrath. He also asks us to shelter the homeless and ransom the captives of injustice. And in the book of Tobit, He promises a reward for giving alms to orphans, widows and the poor, and praises those who bury the discarded dead. All of these good works were well known in his day.
But then we hear something strange. When the young man who was called to follow asked leave to first go and bury his father, why would Jesus have said, "Let the dead bury their dead"? Either because the man was still living, or because he was an unbeliever. Either way, this was a rejection of Jesus' message. It is how we care for our brothers and sisters in Christ that earns our place in Heaven. Those who reject Him have already excluded themselves.
4. Going Above and Beyond
"Love your enemies."
- Luke 6:27-36 ~ "forbearance"
We are familiar with the beatitudes with which Jesus begins his great sermons. And we know not to judge harshly, and how to pray with persistence. We know that we are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. But do we know how to win the hearts and minds of unbelievers? For this, Jesus tells us to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. ... If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. ... But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." And again in Matthew, He said, "You have heard it said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who despise and use you." This is the way of perfection, in imitation of God's perfection. It is pure Truth, but it may also be asking for abuse and suffering. Jesus didn't try to avoid suffering; He embraced it for our sake. And yet, we may also choose to follow another command He has given us, and seek to be as wise as serpents, even as we remain gentle as doves.
When we pray for them, as we should, let us consider how we may limit rather than invite the risk of conflict, without abrogating this very important teaching. We can try to win over our enemies, influencing them with fairness, showing our concern for them even from afar. We can disarm them with mercy, and change their hearts with charity when they are in need. Always remember that our Heavenly Father also cares for them, letting the sun rise each day and the rain fall in season, for both the just and the unjust. While it is true that we should welcome and shelter strangers when they are wandering among us and homeless, we may at first hesitate, to discern whether they are coming to oppose or threaten us, or treat us as fools. Then we accept and harbor those who mean no harm. Still, let us be merciful, even as our Father in Heaven is merciful, so that we may also be perfect as He is perfect. And let us trust our Father's influence to prompt the changes we hope to see.
5. Claiming our First Concern
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God"
- Matthew 6:19-34 ~ "trusting"
In this part of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling us to not be overly concerned with the material values of this world. We don't have to plan and labor to accumulate wealth, focussing our thoughts on ways to profit and save money or to build a business to grow rich. He tells us that such interests are not compatible with devoting our lives to serving God. Indeed, we can't do both without choosing one to serve and the other to neglect. Moreover, if we trust that our needs will be met, so that we believe in God's generosity, we will be filled with light, but if we see the world as competitive and stingy, we will only have darkness in our souls.
Jesus then points to the wild creatures that God provides for in the natural world. Birds don't build up stores, but rather they follow the winds according to the seasons, and God provides what they need. Do we not think that God values us more than birds, which can be caught and sold in the marketplace? Or look around at the flowers in the grass. They stand and wait, trusting that the sun will shine and the rain will fall. And what is their purpose, other than to look pretty, or to feed the beasts that come to graze on them? We gather them as fodder, or as fuel to light our ovens. But was ever a great king fitted and dressed more splendidly than a lily or a rose? God cares even about these little things, making sure to sustain their lives, although their days are soon spent to little purpose. But you can have much more importance than these. If you want to serve God's kingdom, and follow his ways, the Father will be sure to sustain you and satisfy your needs, and more. He will lay up for you treasures in Heaven, stored safely awaiting your arrival, so that you will see the abundance of his blessings not only in this world but the next as well.
But what do we do to seek the Kingdom of God in these days? Today, the mission of the Church is manifold: worship, prayer, study, community and evangelizing. Of course, these are not truly separate endeavors, but each supports the others. Each of us has a part to play, no matter how small. If we will listen to the voice of Jesus, or the urging of the Holy Spirit, we can see the needs of our fellow members, or those of the wider Church, for which we have the time and talents to fulfill. Always, our community is in need of volunteers. We can serve meals for the poor, or help to organize worship, or raise funds to help seminary students, or spend vacations to go on missionary trips. Or we can go directly into ministry, studying to become priests or teachers, or cloistered monks praying for the world's salvation. The point is, let God tell you what He wants you to do, and you will see how He cares for you.
