Understanding the Word

By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Moses calls the people to hear (shema). It is a solemn summons used to  assemble the people of God for consultation, worship, or war. It is used here to  stress the significance of the proclamation of the law that is to follow. Obedience  to the law is not for Israel’s sake alone. Israel’s compliance will serve to witness  to the other nations the extraordinary character of these statutes and decrees.  Such obedience is, then, a sign of Israel’s wisdom. The nations will recognize  the wisdom contained in this law, and conclude that only a great people would  merit so great a God. 

Three characteristics of God are praised in the Letter of James. God is first  described as the fountain of giving and the source of all the gifts themselves.  Furthermore, God’s goodness is constant, not intermittent. God is the source of  both our birth and our re-birth or salvation. Finally, the Christians are admonished to avoid those practices of the world that challenge Christian values. They  are also to intervene on behalf of the community’s most vulnerable, the widows  and orphans who have no legal status in the patriarchal society. When they do  this, the word of truth will take concrete form in their lives. 

The conflict between Jesus and some of his opponents concerns ritual cleansing. The custom of hand washing originated as a regulation observed by priests  when offering sacrifice, and over time developed into an obligation for everyone.  Jesus’ disciples were not observing this custom. Jesus’ response to criticism is swift  and incisive. He explicitly draws a comparison between those whom the prophet  condemns and the scribes and Pharisees who condemn the disciples. The very  ones who demand strict observance of their law fail to observe God’s law. Jesus  uses this encounter to teach a deeper lesson. He insists that defilement originates  from the innermost recesses of the heart, not from some external behavior. 

Living the Word logo

Copyright © 2021, 2020, 2019, 2012, 2011, 2010 World Library Publications, a div. of GIA Publications, Inc. www.giamusic.com
All rights reserved. Used by permission.