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The Mosaic Law as a norm and guide was supposed to
enable the Israelites to live in fidelity to their
covenant with God (Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28). Faith in
Jesus Christ must be lived and not merely professed
(Matthew 7:21-27).
A people
in covenant with God
Written
as though it were the farewell address of Moses to his
people before they entered Canaan from Moab, Deuteronomy
is a copy of the law, of the traditions of Israel for
the guidance of the people in the context of the
covenant with God. Moses as leader delivered to the
people God’s word for them, and was concerned with
instructing them how to faithfully follow the will of
God. To follow the way of another deity would be to
break the pact and to betray God.
The
passage resembles a renewal ceremony of the covenant,
repeatedly mentioning “this day” of the recommitment.
Entering into covenant means the parties pledge
themselves to each other. God’s words are precisely
expressive of the divine intentions, and Moses laid down
unmistakably what the people’s response should be. The
blessings and the curses referred to are a feature of
making a covenant as they correspond to obedience or
disobedience to the law.
Committed, heart and soul
But God
wants His words to be impressed upon the very heart of
the people, meaning His will is to be heard incisively
and appropriated personally. The people are to commit
themselves totally, heart and soul, to God.
Paradoxically, the very signs of such heart-deep
fidelity could easily be reduced to mere externalism:
the frontlets or phylacteries (tefillin) upon the arm
and forehead, or the biblical texts enclosed in small
leather cubes tied on the wrists and as pendant on the
foreheads during services on certain days. These and the
parallel box of sacred texts affixed on the doorposts (mezuzot)
are supposed to identify the wearers and the households
as observant members of the covenant community.
Fidelity
to the law means blessings that generally include
numerous progeny and a good reputation, abundant crops
and numerous flocks and peace and security from enemies.
Disobedience to the law, on the other hand, negates
blessings and occasions punishments. These curses
include infertility and early death, diseases and pests
for the family and the flocks, defeat by invaders and
devastation of the land. Renewal of the covenant
includes renegotiating the terms of the commitment, as
well as the rewards and punishments or the blessings and
curses, if only to underline the choices made.
Extraordinary feats not enough
Jesus’s
Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel According to St.
Matthew ends with the clarification of the fundamental
truth that the disciples’ life of service must be based
on solid commitment to the Lord. In the day of
reckoning, what counts is one’s conformity to the will
of God, not just extraordinary feats in charismatic
outbursts. Already the early Church experienced a
plethora of gifted members whose sensational display of
prophesy and healing could belie the simple message of
Jesus. As Paul pointed out, love must be the basis for
the proper use of such charismata (1 Corinthians 13:2).
Nominal
Christians who say, “Lord, Lord,” but remain only at the
level of talk and study without works of love and mercy,
do not qualify for the kingdom of heaven. Adherence to
His words, not just signs of respect or some devotional
religiosity, builds the true life of righteousness. Such
is the wise man, unlike the foolish who builds his house
on sand. Only the solid rock of Jesus’ words provides
the firm foundation that can withstand the vicissitudes
of life. Discipleship does not promise preservation from
the storm, but security within the storm.
Alálaong
bagá,
like the
people of ancient Israel, we are given the choice to
enter into a covenant with God or not, to accept the law
or not. In instructing his disciples Jesus places before
them a choice: Will we be His disciples? Will we follow
His way in our lives? More than merely an inner
commitment or an interior response, authentic
discipleship is concretized by the way we live out our
commitment. Do our lifestyles testify to whom we are
dedicated? Can people tell of the choice we have made by
the way we live our lives? The signs of discipleship can
be as evident as a tattoo on the arm or a pendant around
the neck, but we have to make sure that we do not fall
into the pharisaical trap of wearing our “phylacteries”
extra large without the Spirit, however, penetrating
into our hearts (Matthew 23:3-5). We need to be obvious
in the world, to bear witness. But it is only on the
basis of our personal commitment and covenant with Jesus
that we are firmly established like a house built on
rock, capable of withstanding the buffetings life dishes
out. And we must remember that we are determined not by
the works we do, but by our faith in the words of Jesus
out of which our works flow.
P.S. My
latest DVD Ang Sampung Utos is now available at
Saint Paul’.
For more of my reflections and works, visit my blogsite:
http://alalaongbaga.multiply.com. |
