"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
In a conversation with Veterans in the VA hospital, about freedom, I often like to conclude with two statements: 1) Freedom is a jealous god, abiding no other; and 2) you cannot distill the program.
Concerning the second remark, I remind the group of our penchant for distilling good things into small, intense pleasures: wine into brandy; poppy into heroin; coca into cocaine, cocaine into crack cocaine, spectator sports into highlights, novels into CliffsNotes, marriage into one-night hookups, and so forth. Addicts often come out of rehab treatment thinking, "I'll just not drink." Or, "I'll just go to the meetings." Or, "I'll move to another state." Or, "I need a girlfriend to help me."
Invariably, they return to treatment after slipping back into addiction. Living well requires a deep conversion of the mind/heart, and a willingness to do whatever it takes. No habit, no relationship, no job, no self-image can be placed before sobriety. Or, as I prefer, freedom.
Which brings me to the first statement, Freedom is a jealous god. Or, as Jesus says in today's gospel, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Or, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, "Half measures availed us nothing."
Jesus' complete response to the scholar of the law demonstrates my point about distillation. Anyone who thinks that being totally consumed with God while ignoring the needs and demands of others has attempted to distill the gospel. Likewise, you cannot love your neighbor without a deep, abiding love of God.
There is no simple formula for salvation and Jesus' reply to "Which commandment...?" -- does not satisfy the limits they imposed on him. The Truth is deep, mysterious, and complex. If we cannot always explain it in simple aphorisms, we must live within it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.