Thursday of the 4th Week in Lent
Feast of St. Joseph
2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4: 13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1: 16, 18-21, 24a
Deacon Larry Brockman
Have you ever noticed how distorted the “law” can become at the expense of the intent of the law?
Income tax law is a good example. The intent is that all persons making income pay a fair share of their income as tax to support the Government. Simple enough- but different factions have scrambled to define what the “fair share” is; and so, over the years, our income tax law has become terribly complex and contorted. There are all kinds of exemptions, credits, special cases, variable rates, and other provisions which have found their way into our tax law, so that it is unclear who, if anybody, is really paying a fair share.
The same thing is happening now with regard to laws that mandate how health care will be applied; and how marriage will be defined. It is not clear how well the principle of doing “what is right” is being applied in either of these areas by our secular authorities.
You see, no matter how well-meaning we are in applying the principle of “what is right”, if we lose sight of the primary motivation, then things will go awry. With regard to moral law, the underlying motivation should be God’s natural law. The Mosaic law; our national system of laws; and even the Islamic Sharia law, are all supposed to be based on God’s natural law. But when mankind gets a hold of the first principles and defines the details, the results can, and do often get distorted.
That’s why our second reading makes a very important point: That God’s covenants with us are not primarily based on law; but rather on Faith. If we have Faith in God’s word to us, then we will listen to God; trust in God; and act in accordance with the spirit of God’s word to us. That is what we need to do to merit the fruits of the covenant. For Christians, those fruits are everlasting life.
So living in faith is not the same thing as living according to the law; because strict compliance with the details of the Mosaic law and secular law are not necessarily the same as following the word of God in faith. I think another example would help.
This is the feast of Joseph. The Mosaic law was quite clear to St. Joseph at the time: His betrothed wife was pregnant; and he was not the Father. There were two possible remedies according to the law. Go to the authorities and turn Mary in, which would have shamed her and possibly resulted in her being stoned to death; or quietly divorce her, which was his plan. But Joseph did neither- because he was moved by the Spirit of God through the dream in which the angel appeared to him. Joseph had faith in, and trusted in, God’s word to him and did not act according to the law. This act of faith by Joseph ranks with Abraham’s faith in importance in human history; else Jesus Christ would not have entered into the world.
We live in very interesting times. For centuries now, Christians have lived their lives according to the law. It was law that properly reflected the natural law of God. But times are changing as the world becomes more pluralistic and secular. Almost weekly we hear about Christians who are persecuted for living their faith, and even martyred for their faith. It is even happening in this country- such as the owners of Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and Catholic Adoption agencies who refuse to allow same-sex couples to adopt children, can attest.
All of us, like King David, are being called to build a house for the Lord. The house is our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit. As such, we are called to hold firm and live by faith, and not blindly according to the “law”.
Our hope is the promise afforded by God’s covenant with us- the New Covenant promise of everlasting life for those who live by faith. The rewards are great as predicted by Nathan the prophet: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever”.
Tags: Faith versus the Law