People Don’t Have Loopholes
John Bergsma, a Bible scholar, quipped “Written codes have loopholes, but persons do not “ in response to a very important truth gleaned from today’s readings. He made this observation in comparing the written Law of the Covenant delivered by Moses with the embodiment of the Covenant in the person of Jesus. The evolution of our relationship with God has shifted somewhat from reference to text as the sole authority to referencing relationship. It would be a fundamental error to suppose that Christ abolished the Law, that sacred text is eclipsed by an individual’s perception of the Divine, but in Jesus as the Christ, the Law has been fulfilled. It was fulfilled through his complete obedience to the Father and sealed in his willingness to “accept death, even death on a cross”, and his subsequent resurrection.
What compelled Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t adherence to a code of conduct for saviors, but perfect obedience borne of a perfect love of God, the Father, and humanity. Love is the spirit undergirding Divine law and animated Christ’s life on earth. Although the money changers in the Temple did not violate the letter of the law, in price gouging and taking advantage of the pilgrims, they violated one of the Commandments to not steal, which is a violation of the higher law of relationship and love.
During Lent, with its fasts and requirements for abstinence, we can let legal requirements eclipse the need to see our discipline as a means to an end; the end being growth in love. Our observance of the letter of the law can lead us, as it did for the money-changers, into violating the higher love embodied in the life of Christ. We can begin with “Thou shall not steal”, but in Christ we grow into giving the one in need of a coat ours, even though the Law does not require it.
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