Laws and Promises

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us of the Laws and Promises of God that Jesus fulfills. This theme is presented today by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus instructs the Pharisees about the behaviour of His Disciples on the Sabbath. Andy Alexander, S.J., on the Day of Prayer, in the US, for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children comments that defending unborn human life can help us be more conscious advocates for all human life after birth. Especially, the human lives of those who are not so easy to defend: murderers on death row, enemy combatants, people are on the margins of our society. Don Schwager quotes “The Lord of the Sabbath, “ by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D. The Word  Among Us Meditation on Mark 2:23-28 considers that like rules for a young child, the sabbath guidelines that Jesus talks about in today’s Gospel were meant to help God’s people make a habit of choosing God’s ways. They were meant to instill the practice of prayer and rest into the rhythm of life. Obeying the Law in itself wasn’t the goal. Staying close to God was the goal—loving him and giving him time and space in their lives. Friar Jude Winkler recalls the Hebrew understanding of the faithfulness of God. The doctrinal teaching in Hebrews is followed by instructions for living a moral life. Friar Jude explores the accuracy of Jesus references to history in Mark. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces a reflection, by Evangelical Shane Claiborne who invites us to quite literally follow Jesus.Fr Richard says that we do not think ourselves into a new way of living, but we live ourselves into a new way of thinking. His  life’s work, in many ways, has been trying to move heady doctrines and dogmas to the level of actual experience and lifestyles that are an alternative to our consumer culture. The Promise fulfilled by Jesus is lived in our practice not through proclamation of beliefs.