I’ve always loved this first reading about Elijah taunting the prophets of Baal, the pagan god. The Old Testament argues consistently that these pagan gods are frauds, non-existent, human creations that can never come to our aid. We moderns can look down upon the ridiculous superstitions that so controlled the ancients, usually to their detriment. But our sense of superiority should quickly dissipate when we reflect on ourselves and realize all the “false gods” we worship in our own culture: money, success, pleasure. How foolish we are when we sacrifice so much of our human value to pursue such ephemeral gain.

Today’s gospel gives sharp expression to one of the perennial arguments that pervades much of the New Testament. And it is still as controversial a subject today in our society as it was in the time of the early church: The role of law.

The law in question is first of all the Jewish law, the Torah. In today’s gospel, Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience who are followers of Jesus, confirms the community’s deep allegiance to their Jewish roots and traditions. He recounts Jesus’ endorsement of the strict observance and perennial validity of the Torah. But from the earliest days of Christianity, there were other communities, filled with Gentile members, who lacked all affinity with the Jewish law. Hence the unavoidable tension. 

But the real dispute was deeper than the observance of religious practices. The question evolved into a dispute how we can attain salvation. What saves us? What brings us into God’s grace? More specifically, what role do our own actions play in redeeming us from our sins? If we live a good life by obeying all the laws and commandments, do we merit our own salvation? If we answer affirmatively, we have given the law a tremendous power. Matthew is probably not saying that exactly. But he is coming close.

Paul, of course, is the opponent, taking a position quite opposite to what Matthew is expressing. Paul wrote to the Romans, “But now we are rid of the Law. . .free to serve in the new spiritual way and not the old way of a written law.” Quite a contrast with Matthew! Paul wanted to emphasize in his teaching that all grace comes to us as free gift through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We don’t earn grace by our good actions. We receive it as a free gift. We can’t justify ourselves. Observance of the law, therefore, for Paul is robbed of its exalted place as the cause of our justification.

As you can imagine, the theologians have been arguing about these nuances for centuries. But the argument is not just some esoteric academic exercise. The side we support in the argument radically influences much of our interior life. Jesus in the gospels—with all his denunciations of the pharisees—seems to adopt more the position that St. Paul advocated. But today’s gospel is perhaps the most famous place where Jesus sides with the other side, with the law advocates. Using Paul’s language, on what do we base our own righteousness before God? What laws or values shape our highest moral principles and guide our actions? And how do we recognize that God’s grace is a free gift from God and not something we have earned on our own?
—Walter Modrys SJ

Today’s readings can be found at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website.