Weekly HOMILY for March 15, 2009: What Is Clear and What Is Fuzzy about the Law?

3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B
St. Francis DeSales
March 15, 2009

What Is Clear and What Is Fuzzy about the Law?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


The Ten Commandments

One day a priest and a rabbi were talking about their different faith traditions.

The rabbi said: “You Catholics and all Christians have taken an awful lot from us. Just look, for example, at the Ten Commandments.”

The priest replied: “Well, yes, we did take the Commandments from you. But you can’t say that we’ve kept them.”


Clear and Fuzzy

I use that little anecdote to introduce what I want to reflect on this morning.

In our first reading, we hear the Ten Commandments. These commandments are very clear in telling us what to do and not to do.

Then, in today’s Gospel, Jesus chases the merchants out of the temple. He knows that they are fulfilling the letter of the Law – helping people to worship – but they are not fulfilling the spirit of the Law.

They are really only interested in making money. Jesus comes to fulfill the Law and he wants us to go beyond the clear letter of the Law and live its spirit.

This “life its spirit” is the part of our moral code that may seem a bit fuzzy. It is not as black and white, as clear as the Commandments, but it is no less important.

I invite you to look with me at how we live our lives, i.e. our moral code, against the standard of some of Ten Commandments. Keep in mind that we’re trying to look at both what is clear and what is fuzzy – but equally important.


Commandments 1 to 3

The first three commandments deal with our relationship with God. They are crucial in the way a foundation is crucial for a building.

If our life with God is rightly ordered at this foundational level, then built on that foundation our life in community will more likely be healthy and holy. With that as a foundation, then the other seven commandments will more likely be kept.

Commandment 1: “I am the Lord you God; you shall not have other gods besides me”

What is clear: We are to believe in and follow one, almighty, transcendent God – monotheism – and this is no problem for us.

What is fuzzy: Do we really look upon God as a person with whom we have a living and growing relationship? Or do we see our faith more as a list of beliefs that is just set and static?

Commandment 3: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

What is clear: We are to come to Mass on Sundays and not let sports be an excuse.

What is fuzzy: Do we really participate actively in Mass, joining in the prayers and hymns, being aware of what we are saying or singing, and listening to the readings? Do we pray personally and make the other six days of the week holy also?


Commandments 4 to 10

Now let’s look at some examples from the other seven commandments. These deal with our relationships with each other.

Commandment 5: “You shall not kill.”

What is clear: We are to respect human life, from the life of the unborn person to the life of one who is terminally ill.

What is fuzzy: Do we injure or take the life of others emotionally, by belittling them and destroying their self-esteem or good name? Do we put our lives and the lives of others at risk by our abuse of alcohol and other drugs?

Commandment 6: “You shall not commit adultery.” What is clear: We are to use the gift of sexuality to express our love in the committed relationship of marriage.

What is fuzzy: Do you nourish your marriage by making time to share joys and sorrows, accomplishments and challenges? Do we view Internet pornography or in magazines?

Commandment 7: “You shall not steal.”

What is clear: We are to respect others by respecting what they own as belonging to them.

What is fuzzy: Am I so caught up in my own possessions and comforts and money that I do not share with those in need? Am I wasteful of electricity, propane, fuel oil, or food and in that way taking from others who do not have enough?


Conclusion

We have not covered each commandment, but I think you get the idea.

Jesus calls us to perfection – to the fulfillment of the Law and that is not always as clear as the Ten Commandments themselves.

They can be fuzzy, but each is equally important.

Let these principles for moral living first, be based on God and our worship of him, and second help us go deeper into how we relate to God and to how we treat one another.

That is the sure recipe for successful living as a Catholic and as a Christian.