This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
The first reading calls us to conversion, to return to the path of justice.
Notice, though, that it doesn’t correct the people of God for missing the small norms listed in the book of Leviticus–ritual washings, minor precepts.
Rather, the conversion to which the Lord calls the people through the prophet Isaiah is a conversion from selfish indifference, to love and charity: “Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.”
In today’s gospel, Jesus isn’t correcting the Pharisees for some brand new, novel transgression that they could not have known about from reading the Old Testament. He corrects them for the very same lack of love and charity that we see brought out in Isaiah: “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.”
How easily we, who have a certain desire to be faithful Christians, get caught up in externals–we want external rules so as to be able to cling to some particular righteousness, so that we can put our hope in that righteousness, and feel secure in it.
It is much harder to place our hope and our security in God’s raw and unconditional love for us, and place our own salvation and righteousness entirely in His hands–so as to pursue a deep relationship with Him and a life poured out recklessly for others.
Let’s unmoor the little craft of our lives from our sense of our own secure compliance and decency, and tie it fast instead to the person of Jesus Christ, seeking to bring Him joy in everything in our life, especially through a tireless and ceaseless focus on the eternal and temporal happiness of others.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think about the aspect of your Christian life that makes you feel most insecure, maybe even making you obsess over yourself a little. Maybe it is a particular fault, or maybe a temptation. Place that thing with all your heart in Jesus’ hands. Ask Him to free your heart to love Him and others, and to worry over yourself less.
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