THE EAR
OF THE HEART
The Rule of St Benedict, written as a guide for life in a
religious community, opens with these words: "Listen carefully, my son, to
the Master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart."
The readings, today, talk about God's Law. In
Deuteronomy, the message from Moses was observed carefully. The people followed
all that God had commanded; He drew them close and blessed them. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus teaches us the
attitude we should have toward the Law of God. Do we view God's Law negatively
or positively? The word "obedience" comes from a Latin word meaning
"to listen." Obedience refers to a willingness to listen to one
another, to what God says to us in our individual lives, and through the people
around us daily.
Jesus illustrates what He had in mind when He
says that He has not come to abolish the Old Law. That Law was an expression of
God's Will for His people, but because it was necessary to put it into human
words, it was an imperfect expression of His Will. The spirit behind the Law is
what counts, and the spirit is found in the love of God and love of neighbor.
Jesus fulfilled the Law, first, by His own supreme example of love, and the
obedience He had toward His heavenly Father.
Jesus made it very clear that the essence of
God's Law - His commandments and way of life - must be fulfilled. In His Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus taught about reverence for God's Law, which includes
reverence for God Himself, for the Lord's Day, reverence and respect for
parents, respect for life, for property, for another person's good name,
respect for oneself and for one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires come
upon us. Respect for God's commandments
teaches us the way of love, the love of God and love of neighbor. What is
impossible to humans is possible to God and those who have faith in Him. He
gives us the grace to love as He loves, to forgive as He forgives, to think as
He thinks, and to act as He acts. The Lord loves righteousness and hates
sinfulness. As His followers, we must love the commandments and hate every form
of sin.
I would like to end today's reflection with
John F. Kennedy's famous words from his inaugural address: "Ask not what
the law demands that you do, but ask what you can do to fulfill the spirit of
the law!"