Thirty First Sunday of the Year October 31, 2021
Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews
7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34
These two anecdotes will help us
understand the Law and Love.
It was during the Korean War in
1954. There were American soldiers
fighting the war in Korea and it was hard.
It was the cold winter and the war had moved to the forest area and the
Americans became the target. There was
knee-deep snow and in that situation, 43 American Soldiers were captured and
were put in a small hut. They had no
fire to warm them and did not have sufficient clothes to protect them from
severe cold. The only way to warm them was by huddling themselves and the body
heat would keep them alive. In the group were two persons were sick with
diarrhea and it was not pleasant to have them in the group. Then one soldier
got up, picked one and put him outside the door, and came to pick the other to
place him outside. Both died instantly. He returned immediately and sat to warm
himself with the others. No one said
anything. The war was over and the forty-one were rescued. Someone told of the
episode and there was the psychological court-martial. There was one accused
and forty witnesses. They were asked the same three questions: did you see what
was happening and all answered saying, they did see it all. The second question
was whether they knew what would happen and all said that they knew of instant
death. The final question asked was why you didn’t do anything and each
answered the same way: it was none of my business. The other is not my
business.
Here are some laws that are said
to have existed or still exist in parts of the United States of America:
• In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania it
is against the law to sleep in a refrigerator.
• There was once a law in Iowa
against women wearing corsets, and an official job of corset inspector who went
around poking women in the ribs to make sure they weren't wearing one.
• In Gary, Indiana, you're
breaking the law if you attend the theatre within four hours of eating garlic.
• In Pocatello, Idaho, it is
illegal to look unhappy.
• Snore loud enough to disturb
your neighbours and you can spend a night or two in jail in the Dunn, North
Carolina.
• It is illegal for chickens to
cross the road in Quitman, Georgia.
• It is against the law in
Alabama to wear a false mustache to church and it makes people laugh.
The problem with multiplying laws
is that people get confused about what things are truly important and what
things are incidental. The Jews too had so many laws, all 613 of them, drawn
from the Old Testament. Because the demands of one law often conflicted with
those of another, Jewish moralists tried to work out a synthesis of the
essentials of the Law. This helped them to know which laws should enjoy the
priority in cases of conflicting laws. The prophet Micah, for example,
summarised the Law in these words: “What does the Lord require of you but to do
justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
Rabbi Hillel was once asked to summarise the law while standing on one leg and
his response was “What you hate for yourself, do not to your neighbour. This is
the whole law, the rest is commentary.”
"The message of the Scripture from the first page to the very last is love ."
In today’s world, the word love
is often misunderstood and misused. Love is many beautiful things and in
today’s culture, it can lose its full meaning. It is not only what makes the
world go round; it is what makes the ride worthwhile. But love is also
demanding. To love means to go beyond ourselves, truly to face another person,
to rise above our own need, to stretch out to someone, to see the faces of
those who desperately need our love, to risk discomfort, to give our time and
energy and indeed to give ourselves to others. Love involves total giving and
sacrificing oneself. There is no
question of sharing only a part or to love when the person feels good. It is true that love has to do with feelings,
but it has far more to do with commitment, challenge, and letting go.
Ten Commandments of Love by Fr Joseph Galdon, SJ:
1. Take your time. A love
relationship is not built overnight and so be patient and take your time.
2. Don’t smother each other. Give
them space too and allow them to move and don’t let them feel that they are
required to spend every waking hour with you.
3. Don’t brood. Stop self-pity,
self-blaming and the mea-culpa syndrome. It is because we are not as bad as we
think.
4. Exercise feelings. Feelings have
meaning only as they are expressed in action.
5. Forming a relationship takes a
lot of looking. But looking can be fun. Grow up together constantly.
6. Don’t be afraid. Stop all worry.
Most of what you are worried about you’ll have difficulty remembering a week
later.
7. Learn to listen. You don’t learn
anything from hearing yourself talk. See all criticism as positive. Anyway, you
are always free to reject it if it is unfair or does not apply.
8. Don’t lose touch with the
craziness in you. Keep the child in you alive and playing. Keep laughing. It
exercises your heart and protects you from cardiac problems.
9. Don’t be afraid or disagreements
and arguments. The only people who do not argue are people who don’t care or
are dead. After an argument is over, forget it. Learn to bend. Don’t hold to
anger, hurt and pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love.
10. Stop playing games. Relationships are not sporting events. Stop wrestling for control.
(You are most welcome to add your
thoughts and reflections in the comment section below)
Happy Sunday
No comments:
Post a Comment