Gospel
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called ‘Master’;
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus didn’t reject the old law and commandments. He came to fulfill them. What the Pharisees and Scribes declared he supported. But how they lived and raised themselves up by oppressing others he rejected.
The law of God has always been about God helping us understand his Love for us and how to enjoy the freedom of living within his law. Commandments are meant to help us understand how to live so we can be free and aligned with the one who created us. He strives to help us live and function and be fruitful in all we do. But just like a ball game or just like in relationship of any kind, there are boundaries that make the game better and enrich relationships.
The baseball player who plays well knowing the rules is free to play hard and efficiently. He doesn’t ask maybe I don’t run to the next base maybe I run down the street. As absurd as that sounds it’s a good analogy. For the player who decides freedom is being able to throw the ball in a lake or run zig zagging across the parking lot impacts his ability to play and it impacts others. The man who decides to not be loyal or loving to his wife because he declares he has the right… injures his own soul and impacts others. Freedom in marriage is where both understand the sacrament of marriage as a union between three.
God, wife and husband. Both give to the other selflessly and have the discipline and commitment to be loyal and loving. Marriage is freedom and wonderful and unlike any man-made institution or relationship for it is the only time humans can become one with another in every way. And the closeness and intimacy is remarkable and exhilarating.
It is the same with God. Our relationship with him colors and supports everything good in our life. We follow the laws and commandments and we find we can move through life with freedom and efficiency, gracefully avoiding what is bad for us and always saying yes to what is best for us.
The world and the evil one lies to us about freedom and how to live. The evil one says follow the flesh. Do what feels good. You know better than God about what is best for you.
The truth is that freedom is more about discipline and commitment than it is about doing whatever we feel like. Love too is about discipline and commitment more than a fleeting feeling. Love and freedom are bigger than feelings and require living by the law and teachings of Jesus.
The one who lives chasing one thing after another and never living by the user manual God gave us as our creator, is not free at all but a slave to the flesh and sin. And that leads to death. In our Old Testament reading today from Isaiah the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are warned to repent. To turn back to God. We know the rest of the story. Unlike Nineveh who repented and chose life, Sodom snd Gomorrah were destroyed.
Choose life and the commandments to focus on in life. It’s the way to freedom and life eternal. God loves all people and always everyone to be free and live for what we were created to be. Children of God.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
Leave a comment