This Sunday, as we hear the Word of God proclaimed, do we “humbly welcome” <\/em><\/span>it and allow it to penetrate our lives? Do we act on what we hear or are we “hearers only”<\/span><\/em>? As we renew our covenant with the Lord in the Eucharist, let us commit ourselves to be “doers of His word”<\/span><\/em> and to live lives which reflect the holiness of the Lord.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many years have passed since the day when God gave His Law to the Children of Israel on Mount Sinai. Moses is reaching the end of his life. Now on the plains of Moab, God commands him to remind this new generation of their covenant with the Lord.<\/p>\n Moses said to the people:\u00a0“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees\u00a0which I am teaching you to observe,\u00a0that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land\u00a0which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.\u00a0In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,\u00a0which I enjoin upon you,\u00a0you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.\u00a0Observe them carefully,\u00a0for thus will you give evidence\u00a0of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,\u00a0who will hear of all these statutes and say,\u00a0‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’\u00a0For what great nation is there\u00a0that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us\u00a0whenever we call upon him?\u00a0Or what great nation has statutes and decrees\u00a0that are as just as this whole law\u00a0which I am setting before you today?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Questions:<\/p>\n Commentary:<\/p>\n Moses said to the people: …<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n It is towards the end of Moses’ life. As we saw last week, Joshua and Caleb were the only two people who were over twenty years old at the time of the Exodus who actually entered the Promised Land. Moses is speaking to a new generation of Israelites.<\/p>\n …”Now, Israel, hear…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n This is the standard liturgical address.<\/p>\n …the statutes and decrees\u00a0which I am teaching you to observe,\u00a0that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land\u00a0which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you….<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The statues (“hoq”<\/span><\/em>) and decrees (“mispat”<\/em><\/span>) refer to different aspects of the Law which Israel must observe. If they do ,they will reap the blessings of the covenant and settle in the Holy Land.<\/p>\n …In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,\u00a0which I enjoin upon you,\u00a0you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The people are not allowed to “tweak” the covenant. This is what Jesus accuses the Pharisees of in this week’s Gospel Reading. The Pharisees added<\/span> commandments to the Law and, in so doing, they also subtracted<\/span> from the Law by violating the very principles on which it was founded!<\/p>\n Observe them carefully,\u00a0for thus will you give evidence\u00a0of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,\u00a0who will hear of all these statutes and say,\u00a0‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ …Or what great nation has statutes and decrees\u00a0that are as just as this whole law\u00a0which I am setting before you today?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n If Israel observes the Law, other nations will notice and the wisdom of God will be manifested to the world.<\/p>\n The Law of God stood in stark contrast to the surrounding civilizations. The cultures of the time were marked by immorality, such as ritual prostitution and infanticide. Having said that, the Law of Moses had its imperfections. For example, although it limited divorce, the Law did still allow for it. Jesus tells us why:<\/p>\n “Moses\u00a0permitted you to divorce your wives because your\u00a0hearts were\u00a0hard<\/span>“<\/em> –\u00a0Matthew 19:8<\/span><\/p>\n These imperfections were dealt with at the coming of Christ.\u00a0For more information on this subject, please see this article from The Sacred Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n …For what great nation is there\u00a0that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us\u00a0whenever we call upon him?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The God of Israel is one who attends closely to His people, who shares with them His wisdom and who dwells with them through the Ark of the Covenant.<\/p>\n Our psalm this week praises the man who lives according to the Law of God.<\/p>\n R. (1a) One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;\u00a0who thinks the truth in his heart\u00a0and slanders not with his tongue.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Who harms not his fellow man,\u00a0nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;\u00a0by whom the reprobate is despised,\u00a0while he honors those who fear the LORD.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Who lends not his money at usury\u00a0and accepts no bribe against the innocent.\u00a0Whoever does these things\u00a0shall never be disturbed.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Questions:<\/p>\n Commentary:<\/p>\n R. (1a) One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Righteousness is required to dwell with God.<\/p>\n Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;\u00a0who thinks the truth in his heart\u00a0and slanders not with his tongue.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Not only must one live rightly in actions (“does justice”), one must have internal integrity (“truth in his heart”<\/span><\/em>).<\/p>\n Who harms not his fellow man,\u00a0nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;\u00a0by whom the reprobate is despised,\u00a0while he honors those who fear the LORD.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The righteous man acts rightly towards his “neighbor”<\/span><\/em> (remember Jesus’ parable of the Good\u00a0Samaritan). He hates those who do evil (strictly speaking, it is their sin that he hates) and honours those who live in right-relationship with God.<\/p>\n Who lends not his money at usury\u00a0and accepts no bribe against the innocent.\u00a0Whoever does these things\u00a0shall never be disturbed.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The righteous man does not exploit the poor or accept bribes. For more information on the tricky subject of “usury”<\/span><\/em>, please see Wikipedia<\/a>\u00a0and this article by Dave Armstrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the last few weeks we worked through the Epistle to the Ephesians and now we turn to the Epistle of St. James.<\/p>\n There are a number of people named James in the New Testament:<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0James “The Greater”<\/strong> 2. James “The Less”<\/strong> 3. James “The kinsman of the Lord”<\/strong> It is quite possible that (2) and (3) are, in fact, the same person and is the most likely author for this letter.<\/p>\n St. James’ epistle is one of my favourite books of the New Testament because it describes what practical<\/span> Christian living looks like. Again and again he exhorts his readers to allow their faith to find concrete expression in this lives in works of love since. He never tires of saying in many different ways, “faith without works is dead”<\/span><\/em>…<\/p>\n Dearest brothers and sisters:<\/span>\u00a0All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,<\/span>\u00a0coming down from the Father of lights,<\/span>\u00a0with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.<\/span>\u00a0He willed to give us birth by the word of truth<\/span>\u00a0that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you<\/span>\u00a0and is able to save your souls.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:<\/span>\u00a0to care for orphans and widows in their affliction<\/span>\u00a0and to keep oneself unstained by the world.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Questions:<\/p>\n Commentary:<\/p>\n Dearest brothers and sisters:\u00a0All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,\u00a0coming down from the Father of lights,\u00a0with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James asserts that all good things come from God. No evil comes from Him.<\/p>\n God is described as “the Father of lights”<\/span><\/em>. He is the creator of the heavenly bodies:<\/p>\n And God said, \u201cLet there be lights\u00a0in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,\u00a0and let them serve as signs\u00a0to mark sacred times,\u00a0and days and years…<\/em>\u00a0– Genesis 1:14<\/span><\/p>\n who made the great lights\u2014\u00a0His love endures forever.<\/em><\/span> However, whereas the stars and planets constantly move and change, casting shadows, God is unchanging and sure.<\/p>\n He willed to give us birth by the word of truth…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n God chose to bring new life to us through the Gospel:<\/p>\n Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed\u00a0in his name,\u00a0he gave the right to become children of God\u2014\u00a0<\/sup>children born not of natural descent<\/span>, nor of human decision or a husband\u2019s will, but born of God<\/span>.<\/em> – John 1:12-13<\/span><\/p>\n For you have been born again<\/span>,\u00a0not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,\u00a0through the living and enduring word of God<\/em> –\u00a01 Peter 1:23<\/span><\/p>\n …that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The “firstfruits”<\/span><\/em> is a reference to the Old Covenant:<\/p>\n You are to give them the firstfruits<\/span> of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep…<\/em> – Deuteronomy 18:4<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses,\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cSpeak to the Israelites and say to them: \u2018When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest,\u00a0bring to the priest a sheaf\u00a0of the first grain you harvest<\/span>.\u00a0<\/sup>He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord\u00a0so it will be accepted\u00a0on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.<\/em> – Leviticus 23:9-11<\/span><\/p>\n In the Old Testament, an initial portion of a harvest was offered offered to God. The firstfruits indicated that a larger harvest would follow. Likewise,\u00a0James says that those who receive the “word of truth”<\/em><\/span> are themselves\u00a0“firstfruits”<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>in the harvest of souls.\u00a0<\/em>Paul describes Christ using the same term:<\/p>\n But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,\u00a0the firstfruits<\/span>\u00a0of those who have fallen asleep.<\/em> – 1 Corinthians 15:20<\/span><\/p>\n Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you\u00a0and is able to save your souls.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James exhorts his readers to receive the revelation of God, which began in the Old Testament and culminated in Christ. They are to receive it with humility and to cooperate with it.<\/p>\n James uses the metaphor of a seed in a similar fashion to Jesus:<\/p>\n That same day Jesus went out of the house\u00a0and sat by the lake.\u00a0Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat\u00a0and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.\u00a0Then he told them many things in parables, saying:\u00a0\u201cA farmer went out to sow his seed<\/span>.\u00a0As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.\u00a0Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.\u00a0But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.\u00a0<\/span>Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.\u00a0Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop<\/span>\u2014a hundred,\u00a0sixty or thirty times what was sown.\u00a0Whoever has ears, let them hear.\u201d<\/em> – Matthew 13:1-9, 23<\/span><\/p>\n Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n James repeats this basic message throughout his epistle. St. Paul says something similar in Romans:<\/p>\n For it is not those who hear the law<\/span> who are righteous<\/span> in God\u2019s sight, but it is those who obey\u00a0the law<\/span> who will be declared righteous.<\/em> – Romans 2:13<\/span><\/p>\n Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:\u00a0to care for orphans and widows in their affliction…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Unlike many today<\/a>, James has no problem with using the word “religion”<\/span><\/em>. Religion which is “pure and undefiled”<\/span><\/em> is identified as religion which takes care of the vulnerable (“orphans and widows”<\/span><\/em>). Care of the poor is the responsibility of every Christian, not simply the government.\u00a0When Christians care for the vulnerable, they reflect the fatherly care of God:<\/p>\n A father to the fatherless<\/span>,\u00a0a defender of widows<\/span>,\u00a0is God in his holy dwelling.<\/em> – Psalm 68:5<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0Lord\u00a0watches over the foreigner\u00a0and sustains the fatherless\u00a0and the widow<\/span>,\u00a0but he frustrates the ways of the wicked<\/em> –\u00a0Psalm 146:9<\/span><\/p>\n Exhortations to care of “orphans and windows”<\/em><\/span> are found throughout the Old and New Testaments:<\/p>\n \u201cCursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner,\u00a0the fatherless or the widow<\/span>.\u201d<\/em> –\u00a0Deuteronomy 27:19<\/span><\/p>\n Be like a father to orphans<\/span>, and provide widows<\/span> with the help their husbands can no longer give them. Then you will be like a child of the Most High, and he will love you more than your own mother does.<\/em> –\u00a0Sirach 4:10<\/span><\/p>\n In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,\u00a0the Hellenistic Jews\u00a0<\/span>among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows<\/span>\u00a0were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food<\/span>.<\/em> –\u00a0Acts 6:1<\/span><\/p>\n All the widows<\/span>\u00a0stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made<\/span> while she was still with them<\/em> – Acts\u00a09:39<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/sup>Give proper recognition to those widows<\/span> who are really in need.<\/em> –\u00a01 Timothy 5:3<\/span><\/p>\n James isn’t giving a complete definition of religion, but he is getting to the heart of the matter.<\/p>\n …\u00a0and to keep oneself unstained by the world.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n The “world” referred to here is not the goodness of God’s creation, but the falleness which is in opposition to God. Christians must\u00a0practise\u00a0the virtue of chastity, not become tainted and indoctrinated by the world.<\/p>\n After spending five weeks working through Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, we finally return to our Gospel of this year, the Gospel of Mark. When we last left Mark’s Gospel<\/a>, Jesus had been expanding His ministry, sending the Twelve out two by two to preach and to heal. Now the Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus after having observed His disciples eating their food with unwashed hands. They had questions…<\/p>\n![\"Does](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Does-not-hearers-only.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nReading I: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8<\/h3>\n
![\"moses\"](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/moses.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
\nResponsorial Psalm: Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5<\/h3>\n
\n
\nReading II: James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27<\/h3>\n
\nThis was an Apostle and was the son of Zebedee (Matthew 10:2; Luke 8:51; Acts 1:13;\u00a012:2<\/a>). In Acts 12:12 he\u00a0was killed by\u00a0Herod Agrippa in AD 44. Because of this early death it is unlikely that he was the author of this letter.<\/p>\n
\nThis was also an Apostle and was the son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark\u00a03:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13<\/a>).<\/p>\n
\nWe are also told of a James who was a relative of Jesus (Galatians 1:19; Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3<\/a>). It also seems that heled the Church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Galatians\u00a01:19<\/a>). He was martyred in AD\u00a062 on the orders of Annas II, the High Priest. This James may well also be the James to whom the Lord appeared after His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n![\"Doers](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/outreach.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
\nthe sun to govern\u00a0the day,\u00a0His love endures forever.<\/em><\/span>
\nthe moon and stars to govern the night;\u00a0His love endures forever<\/em>. – Psalm 136:7-9<\/span><\/p>\n
\nGospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23<\/h3>\n