for March 18, 2020
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Thomas Friedman in today’s New York Times points to a way of classifying countries as either “tight” (like China) or “loose” (like the United States). He was referring to alternate ways countries and societies impose rules and punishments governing social behavior. I don’t know how closely Friedman follows the Catholic lectionary (probably not at all), but his comments could serve as a perfect backdrop to today’s readings. 

Friedman, of course, was addressing what we need to do to confront the spread of the coronavirus. Today’s scripture readings, too, need to be placed in the context of the crises that occasioned them. The first reading pictures Moses’ attempt to reconstitute the Jewish people as they are about to enter the Promised Land with all the challenges of transforming a basically nomadic culture into a stable and well-organized society. Matthew’s gospel reflects the struggle within Judaism to redefine what it means to be a faithful Jew after the fall of Jerusalem and the passing of the Jewish Temple —the central expression of Jewish faith. In both contexts, law naturally emerges as a central issue. 

The bible continually grapples with the question of law. St Paul seemingly would side with the “loose” faction, and Matthew with the “tight” party. In the gospels, Jesus points to a way of resolving the tension when he insists in the end that law is to be internalized, not just as a system of rules governing external behavior, but as a set of core values that ultimately flow from the supreme law of love. 

Aren’t we being challenged today to embrace this deeper truth about law in our present crisis? Government may impose restrictions on us that days ago would have seemed unthinkable. At the same time, we have to find creative ways continually to respect and care for one another beyond what anyone can legislate, which will require personal sacrifices from each of us. The ultimate challenge will be to our “core,” the value we hold most dear and what animates our way of being in the world. The test will apply to us as individuals and to our society as a whole, what unites us as citizens of one world.  That essential core is what the Scriptures call love, and finally that is the one law which must inspire all the rest and from which everything else must follow. — Walter F. Modrys SJ

The texts are available on the US Catholic Conference of Bishops website.