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“You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

For seven Sundays we journeyed with Jesus and His apostles. Today, and for the rest of Ordinary Time, Jesus will discuss the practical application of being in Him. How do we do it?

In the context of the journey, we discussed the Law of God that Israel was commanded to follow, covering it especially during the past two weeks.

There is a lot to the Law. At a basic level, as we heard from Moses today, the Law set Israel apart from other nations, but it wasn’t quite that simple.

Israel’s Law of social and religious behavior was developed based on the Ten Commandments, spoken by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Ten express the essential religious and moral principles Israel was to follow and put in a nutshell what God revealed to the Israelites about Himself, as well as how they should live in community. From these Ten “Words,” as well as instruction through prophets and priests, Israel developed a detailed system of religious and social communal regulations.

Now, other nations (e.g., the Amorites of Babylon, Assyrians, and others) had codes of laws that predated Israel. In many ways they were similar, and each borrowed from the other.

The differences are in three essential elements. One is the grounding of the codes. Other kingdom’s codes were based on the authority and power of a ruler. Their laws protected the rights of the wealthy and powerful. For Israel, the Law is grounded on communal experience of God. So, although the Law deals with some economic matters, that does not dominate. Rather, at the center of Law is: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of slavery; you shall have no other gods besides me.”

Other differences are the way God is to be treated. The Law did not change with the whims of a king but was the baseline against which all were to behave under and toward God. Lastly, other codes had an imbalance. They treated rich and poor, slaves and free differently. They punished the poor severely for minor things.  In the Law, the most severe penalties were applied to offenses against other people, regardless of social rank, or actions which threaten the community and its values. It was Law for all.

The Law reflected Israel’s unique encounter with God. Hearing its corruption, it being reduced to a series of dos and don’ts without any relationship to God, Jesus speaks of the Law’s true nature. It is about a community in relationship with God and each other. Being in Jesus means that together we are to grow toward God, have our hearts close to God, and always keep our worship directed to God, living His way.