Time for Law

There have been countless studies on why people act the way that they do. In fact, there are many competing schools of thought that claim to explain this, repressed sexual desire, a will to power, a search for meaning, to name three. The true answer may be a bit of each or none at all. Our lives are complex and we have been through many experiences. Some good, some bad. We can only hope and pray that the good outnumber the bad. The Israelites certainly had their bad times. Enslaved in Egypt, frightened, caught between an army and a sea, wandering in a wilderness without food or drink. All done in order to receive a promise that seemed far off, even impossible. After all that, God placed more of a burden upon them: the Law.

We seem to have a love-hate relationship to law. If the rules keep another from hurting us it is good. If it keeps us from doing what we want it is bad. It was the same for the Israelites. We can even argue that the Law is old-fashioned. Who wants to keep all the cleanliness laws, not eat pork, do nothing on Saturday, and all that? In seminary they teach the three uses of the Law. Although I never caught on to the subtlety between them I did understand the Law is a gift to teach us how to live with each other and to be God’s people.  As Christians we have a different take on the Law than our sisters and brothers in the Jewish faith, but for each of us it sets up a tension between us and the world around us. If our lack of following the Law is an attempt to be more like the world we are certainly disobeying it. If we disregard some of it while emphasizing other parts of it in order to make the world see God we are following it. 

In fact we may even bring undo attention to ourselves when we emphasize the Law. Jesus did. We heard one such account today when, in the temple, Jesus’ love of God drove him to anger and his acts sped up the desire of the authorities to kill him. (Although we read from John who, unlike the other gospels, has Jesus do this at the beginning of his ministry not the week of his crucifixion.) Yet that is what Christians – lovers of the Law – do. They proclaim God to the world. While anger may be needed sometimes, we are always called to act with love; The foolishness of the cross. So put away your old self of sin and death and share the life that comes through God’s love. Pick up your cross and follow Jesus and show the world the foolishness of their wisdom and desire.