Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 239 

“Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. 
Observe them carefully...

Like our Jewish ancestors and their descendants today, Christians are a People of the Book. We worship the Word of God. But there are differences. In his book, God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter, Stephen Prothero suggests that Christianity is a religion of faith, and Judaism is a religion of observance. Devout Jews faithfully observe the "statutes and decrees" the Lord gave them through the Prophet Moses.

Christians faithfully cling to the son of Mary, Jesus of Nazareth. We believe this historical figure is the Word of God Incarnate, a mystery revealed by his miraculous birth of a virgin and by his astonishing resurrection. His new religion, born like Eve from Adam out of the wounded side of Judaism, does not have a very clear code of statutes and decrees beyond the Ten Commandments. 

Catholics, like our Jewish ancestors, have a strong liturgical tradition; but many Protestant denominations prefer systems of prayer which reflect and respond to the immediate concerns of the present congregation in all their ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. However, Protestants agree with Catholics that keeping the faith is vitally important; and they do that in many and varied ways.

Because we are born of Judaism, we revere many of the Hebrew Scriptures. We have collected the most important of those books, especially those which foretell the coming Messiah and called them  "the Old Testament." While all Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible, we do not suppose that anyone can read it in isolation. Our readings occur publicly at the beginning of every Mass -- on weekdays two selections; and on Sundays, three -- and are followed by a homily, which should explain and interpret what we have heard. 

Unlike the sacred readings of some religious traditions, the scriptures are marvelously accessible and approachable. Everyone should devoutly read them daily, exploring the more difficult passages with study and discussion. The last thing we need is wild-eyed misreadings that only insult the Word of God and alienate fellow Christians.  

Clinging to the unity which Jesus insisted upon, Catholics hold to the infallibility of the Scriptures; but superficial readings of difficult passages should not be taken at face value. Like all Christian denominations we interpret the Bible, first with translations approved by our bishops, and then with explanations that appreciate their historic and prehistoric origins. The very best translations are, after all, just translations. 

Finally, we recognize that the Bible contains the Word of God but the Word of God is not contained by the Bible. Gathered by our love for the Word, we pray for inspiration and guidance as we navigate the challenges of our time. Neither Moses nor Jesus could imagine electrical appliances, automobiles, or social media. Their spirit, however, is God the Holy Spirit, an ever present and infallible guide who teaches us to observe in every age all the statutes and decrees.