Unjustifying Justification
Moses said to the people: "If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.
"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,…No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out." (Dueteronomy 30:10-14)
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"
He said in reply,"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being,
with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25-37)
Let me ask you this, if the sign on the side of the road says, Speed Limit 70, what exactly is your speed limit? Mine is 77. From everything I have heard, 7 over the speed limit will not get me pulled over. In today’s culture, there are lots of laws, and there are lots of interpretations of laws. This is why we have so many levels of court systems. What one person can justify with one judge puts another in the penalty box of another judge’s courtroom. Our judicial system in this world does not serve us well spiritually. [The law is the law, nothing added or taken away.] These are the words that first surfaced in my reflection of this past Sunday’s Gospel. We as humans have this intrinsic tendency of taking a law (whatever law) and making it [open to interpretation.] Instead of taking a law and using it as a measure guide for our behavior, we tend to hold ourselves up and try to make the law fit how we want it to best fit in our lives. Moses knows the hearts of the Israelites well. He tries to head off the human impulse to wheedle our way out or around the inconvenient truth that God’s law is God’s law. Today as I read Moses’ entreaty to the Israelites he cuts off a common refrain that we still use today, “For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.” He cuts off the “I didn’t know”, “Did God really mean it this way?” “I’m no scholar of the bible, I can’t figure it out.” Moses ends his exhortation with a simple command, “You have only to carry it out.” We know where we wheedle, negotiate, redefine, and ignore. The Lord speaks two simple words into my prayer, [No excuses.] The first reading from the book of Deuteronomy opened up a whole new interpretation of Jesus beloved parable of the Good Samaritan (there’s a law for that by the way :)) As I placed myself in this Gospel I began to see a beautiful living example of an examination of conscience. The scholar approaches Jesus wishing to test Him. Haven’t I done this countless times in my own heart and head? Lord, if I tell just this one small lie I will spare this person this pain, surely you would want that? Lord, if I skip Mass this weekend I will have more time to relax and be my best self on Monday, what is wrong with that? Lord, is it really gossip if I am seeking advise about a mutual friend? My list could go on. Jesus asks the scholar two simple questions that He invites us to ask ourselves: What is written? How do you read it? Let’s face it, there is often at least a small chasm between what God commands and what we actually live. What decisions would I make differently if I asked myself these two questions? Entering the Gospel again I see Jesus’ parable in a whole new light. The parable of the Good Samaritan holds universal truth for us all, but in that moment I imagine that Jesus spoke directly to a very specific circumstance in the life of the scholar that had been weighing on his conscience. This is so often how Jesus leads me to the truth of His teaching. As I read scripture, something from my own past surfaces. My first impulse is to push it back down with justification. When I approach the Lord with my questions, struggles, and yes arguments, Jesus often opens my eyes to the truth that I have fallen short of living His truth. Last week I followed an old law: the law of an eye for an eye. I met a wrong and a hurt with my own wrong and hurt. In the moment I felt justified even a little liberated. I had stood up for myself! Two mornings later, before coffee, before prayer, as I made my way downstairs the Lord downloaded a totally new perspective of the situation and I knew that I had in fact once again fallen short. I was not a neighbor. I had not shown mercy.
No student is above his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
No matter how well versed or schooled, we will always be students to our Rabbi, Jesus. I do not get to redefine the law. Where in your life are you leaving God’s law open to interpretation? Where have you felt the need for justification? Take this to prayer. Be bold, like the scholar, and ask Jesus your questions. Open your heart to listen to His reply.
