Tag: Mosaic Law

Psalm 89: Steadfast Love
Psalm 89: Steadfast Love

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Written on March 7 and posted today as a Favorite . . .

Righteousness, justice, faithfulness and steadfast love – these are the tenets of God’s covenant with David and we see steadfast love repeated in this song. This puts me in mind of Paul’s beautiful anthem to love in 1 Corinthians: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know it in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfection disappears. When I was a child I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Mosaic Law has many parts and multiple nuances. The Law that Christ brings, the Law of Love, is but one that supersedes all others; this one law is the perfection of love as we see it lived by Jesus.

In today’s Psalm we see the “creative work of God as a defeat of the powers of chaos.” The references to the north and south signify the entire whole universe. The great height of mounts Tabor and Hermon imply God’s might and omniscience. Steadfast love and faithfulness are “personified here as companions or servants who lead the way of the Lord.” Festal shouts describe the joy of the people. We may be taunted from time to time that God has abandoned us as is the king in this psalm, but we know that it is impossible for God to abandon his creatures. This hymn of praise to the creator himself helps to put us in proper relationship to God; and it reminds us of God’s most salient characteristic that God is steadfast love. (Mays 883-885)

In today’s Gospel from Mark (12:1-12) Jesus reminds us that although he is the cornerstone rejected by builders he will remain faithful and constant. He tells the parable of the farmer who erects a vineyard and wine press and leaves it with tenants to go on a journey. When the master wishes to collect what is due him, his servants and even his son are rejected and even put to death. So too are those who follow Christ; but we are to remain steadfast just as God is steadfast. We are to remain in love, just as Christ remains in love. And we are to sing of God’s steadfast love and proclaim God’s faithfulness to the generations. For this faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. There is no other cornerstone that holds up the heavens and stands firm on the earth. There is no other cornerstone on which to build our faith.

A re-post from September 9, 2011.

Image from: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/reasons-the-steadfast-love-of-the-lord-never-ceases-for-us.html

Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 883-885. Print.
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October 4, 2025

1 Corinthians 13, constancy, faithfulness, justice, Law of Love, love, Mark 12:1-12, Mosaic Law, order out of chaos, rejected cornerstone, righteousness
Matthew 7:13-28: Duality Two
Matthew 7:13-28: Duality Two

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Bartolome Esteban Murillo: Return of the Prodigal Son – National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Yesterday we shared concepts from Hispanic life and culture as we explored the paradox of Jesus’ death and rising. Examining the dichotomy of humanity and divinity shared in one person, we invite visitors to share their own experience of duality in the comment bar. Today, part two of our post brings us more resources to search for clues to our own duality.

Golden Age mystics bring us liminal prose and poetry: Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross, and the trances of Teresa of Avila. One of Europe’s earliest and oldest universities with Fray Luis de Leon in Salamanca, moves education forward while horrific wars with the French, the Turks, the British, and the Americas give birth to an endless list of bifurcations. Existentialism moves forward through the works of Miguel de Unamuno and his Atheist’s Prayer. If we ever want to meditate on choosing between two roads or living in multiple realities, we only need to dip into Hispanic culture.

In today’s citation we have just finished hearing Jesus speak about beatitude, and the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law with the new Law of Love. We have just heard him say that he abides with the broken in spirit, heart and body rather than the wealthy, famous and powerful. We have heard him urge us to knock, ask and seek rather than to comply, give up, or remain silent. Now, he points out to us the dualities that always lie before us. There are always at least two roads; false and true prophets either lure or teach us; real and unreal disciples urge to follow someone or something; evil and good shepherds kill or give life; and we might choose two types of homes to build in a kingdom we are invited to form. We have choices to make, roads to travel, spirits to test and deeds to perform in Christ’s name.

When Christ calls, we will recognize his voice. Let us answer with courage and love.

When we call, Christ will recognize our voices. Let us persist in hope and fidelity as we share Christ’s Easter joy.

Francisco de Zurbaran: Saint Francis in Meditation – The National Gallery, London, U.K.

We must practice listening in the here and now for the shepherd’s voice. We must practice calling out Christ’s name to ask for help. We must rehearse how we will both receive and grapple with answers. We must practice dialog with God. We must ask the Spirit’s help to suffer well so that others and we may live forever. For there is no other redemption, no other saving grace, no other blessing than following the Voice of the Shepherd. There is no other Way but to make a single harmony of the dual song of God’s Call and The Faithful’s Response. Let us practice this duet with our God each day.

We are on the eve of the Fourth Sunday of Easter when we will revisit the parable of the Good Shepherd. Let us prepare to knock on the doors the world closes to us. Let us ask the difficult questions the world throws at us. And let us forever seek the merciful justice Christ shows us in the duality of his being.

We invite you to share dualities you find in your own lives in the comment bar.

Adapted from a reflection written on January 12, 2009.

To find a definition of the word liminal, go to: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liminal

Visit John 10:1-18 for the parable of the Good Shepherd.

More information about the University of Salamanca is at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Salamanca

Follow links here to learn more about how others lived their experience of duality.

To dive into the world of Spanish artists in the Golden Age of abundance and scarcity, spend time with the art of three outstanding painters: Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

Spain boasted five playwrights who equaled the style, power, and influence of William Shakespeare: Juan del Encina, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderón de la Barca, and Lope de Rueda. Choose one link and explore. Or learn more about Spain’s Golden Age of Literature in the Britannica online at: https://www.britannica.com/art/Golden-Age-Spanish-literature

The mystic poetry of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila is in the same moment challenging and consoling. Explore here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/st-john-of-the-cross and https://www.poetseers.org/spiritual-and-devotional-poets/christian/teresa-of-avila/prayers-and-works/index.html
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May 10, 2025

John 10:1-18, Law of Love, liminal space, Mosaic Law, Spanish culture
Romans 6:1-11: Seek Freedom from Sin; Seek Life in God
Romans 6:1-11: Seek Freedom from Sin: Seek Life in God

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Today’s reading is Paul’s defense against the idea that to live as Jesus lived is to live without regard for the Law of Moses or without regard for Jesus’ own act of fulfilling that Law. This new covenant does not promote moral laxity; rather it brings the opportunity to live a full life of union with the law, with the spirit of the law more than the letter. Paul also goes on to remind us that we all receive the gift of resurrection through Christ. He delineates ably an argument to those who say that life in Christ and in the Spirit lacks morality because it forgives. He shows us that life in Christ is the exemplar of morality if being lived well.

So many times we forget that we ought to tend to our spiritual health as assiduously as we do our physical, emotional or mental health. We practice yoga, eat organic food, look for advice, and forget to make a stillness in our lives where we can best listen to the voice which speaks within.

Humans so often seek to separate and divide. God always seeks to unify. God brings us freedom from a life of division. He brings us life in Christ and union in the Spirit. Jesus came to live with us as God’s Word. Christ remains among us as God’s Spirit. Christ lives in us, in spite of us, always with us, ever keeping us in God’s love. Life in God is freedom, freedom to become our best potential, freedom to fulfill God’s best dream for us. Let us seek freedom to live in God.

Adapted from a Favorite written on November 6, 2017.

Images from: https://juicyecumenism.com/2015/07/02/of-courts-and-churches/ and https://www.pickpik.com/heart-shape-tree-red-outdoors-flowers-valentines-day-1631
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October 29, 2024

Mosaic Law, New Law, the letter versus the spirit of the law, Trinity
Isaiah 61: Prophecy Fulfilled
Isaiah 61: Prophecy Fulfilled

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

The opening words of this chapter are the ones that Jesus stands to read in his hometown synagogue (Luke 4: 16-21). He follows this reading with the announcement that the words are fulfilled for them that day. Tension builds as those present question Jesus and realize that he is, indeed, saying that he is the Messiah, and that they have not listened to him or to God. A riot results and the congregation hauls him off to the edge of the cliff to hurl him over; but in the melee Jesus slips away.

These are such troubling words. These are such comforting words. Why are the people so angry? Why does the congregation reject good news? Why does Jesus’ audience refuse to allow the healing of broken hearts, anxiety and worry? When we pause to reflect, we realize that we too frequently do as this crowd does in Luke 4. We also reject the beautiful good news that Isaiah brings to us.

Envy is a powerful force. Those who would hurl the Messiah from the cliff forget that God alone saves, God alone heals, and God alone brings true freedom from all that holds us down. The crowd was thinking – in the same pride-filled way that we also might think – that they alone were responsible for all good things in their lives. They did not want to believe that they were not Yahweh’s faithful who followed The Mosaic Law to the letter. And they did not want to be challenged about their conduct, nor did they want anyone to discover the corruption of the system they had established.

As we read the words of Isaiah’s Chapter 61, in this “Book of Consolation,” we are filled with the knowledge that through perseverance and pain, good things do happen. Each day my children and grandchildren, my students, friends, colleagues, and even strangers bring God to me. I am healed by their prayer, their action, their connection with me in and through Christ.

And all God asks in return is that we take the suffering we have experienced and transform ourselves so that we too may in turn heal and cure. God asks that we also bring hope to the afflicted. Isaiah reminds us that we are all anointed. We are all called. We only need to reply to God’s call in word and deed.

Image from: http://www.bible-history.com/sketches/ancient/jesus-isaiah-scroll.html

Adapted from a reflection written on February 27, 2007.
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June 13, 2023

Book of Consolation, envy, Mosaic Law, suffering, transformation
Deuteronomy 26: 16-19: The Covenant
Deuteronomy 26: 16-19: The Covenant

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Celebrating the Beatitudes, striving to fully take in Jesus’ teachings, we remind ourselves of our heritage and our commitment. Our relationship with God is one we entered into at our creation; and it is a connection and support that will hold us forever.

Today the Lord is making this agreement with you . . .

These are such simple and beautiful words coming from the book of Deuteronomy, or “second law”. Here we find a kind of re-hashing of the historical events which brought the Hebrews to the Moab desert where they waited for forty days before crossing the Jordan to enter their promised land.

You are a people peculiarly God’s own . . . as God promised you . . .

Jesus uses words from this book in his interchanges with Satan when he goes to the desert for forty days just before the beginning of his public ministry (Matthew 4). Jesus again quotes Deuteronomy when he explains the first and greatest commandment of love to a young man (Matthew 22). Matthew, who was writing for a Jewish audience to help his reader understand the implications of these Deuteronomy citations by Jesus, stirred up the corrupt Jewish leadership who had tended to the letter of the law while neglecting its spirit.

God will raise you high in praise and renown and glory . . .

Just so might these words stir up contention today; yet just so will these words bring consolation to those who live a just and authentic life.

God will make you a people sacred to the Lord . . .

Jesus becomes the fulfillment of this Old Covenant because he is the New Covenant. As this new agreement and promise, he is also hope. In this season when we continue to celebrate the miracle of Easter, let us be careful to observe Jesus’ statute of loving one another – even our enemies – with our whole heart and our whole soul. Let us continue to walk in his ways, and hearken to his voice. And let us continue to be a people sacred to God . . . as he has promised.

Image from: http://imgkid.com/covenant-with-god-through-jesus.shtml
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May 8, 2022

corruption, hope, love your enemies, Mosaic Law, promise
Psalm 51: Contrition
Psalm 51: Contrition

March 14, 2022

The most famous of the lament psalms, this prayer is said often during the Lenten season; it is also called Prayer of Repentance. It was written after David sinned with Bathsheba and their child was lost (2 Samuel 11 and 12).

“The first part (3-10) asks deliverance from sin, which is not just a past act but its emotional, physical, and social consequences. The second part (11-19) seeks something more profound than wiping the slate clean: nearness to God, living by the spirit of God (12-13), like the relation between God and people described in Jer. 21, 33-34. Nearness to God brings joy and the authority to teach sinners (15-16). Such proclamation is better than offering sacrifice (17-19). The last two verses ask for the rebuilding of Jerusalem (20-21) . . . Most scholars think that these verses were added to the psalm some time after the destruction of the temple in 587 B.C. The verses assume that the rebuilt temple will be the ideal site for national reconciliation”. (Senior 680-681)

The elements that help to bring us to reconciliation in this prayer are the call to be cleansed and purified with the sprinkling of the hyssop – a woody bush whose small branches were used in ceremonial sprinkling as prescribed by Mosaic Law – the acknowledgment that our wrongdoings effect every part of us – even our inmost heart – and the understanding that true reconciliation comes only through God’s healing hand. The writer of this psalm knows and expresses the idea that we of ourselves are nothing and can do nothing . . . other than act in and of God.

Let us offer up this prayer today as we continue to pray for the people of Ukraine.

Tomorrow, miserere.

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.680-681. Print.

Image from: https://scripturestudyjournal.wordpress.com/category/repentance/

Adapted from a reflection written on February 11, 2010.
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March 14, 2022

Bathsheba, David, Mosaic Law, repentance
Mark 12:18-27: Resurrection – Part I: Watching
James Tissot: Chief Priests Talking Together

Friday, October 15, 2021

Mark 12:18-27

Resurrection – Part I: Watching

You are greatly misled.

In today’s citation Jesus attempts to instruct the Sadducees about resurrected life, telling them that they have missed the Mosaic message and promise. The Sadducees were members of a priestly family descended from one of David’s high priests, Zadok. King Solomon gave this group supreme control over the Temple and they came to form one of the ruling parties of Judaism from the time of the Hasmonean Dynasty around 146 BCE to the destruction of the Temple in 70 ACE. They stood on the religious authority presented in the first five books of the Bible, The Torah, and were highly conservative; yet despite this leaning, the Sadducees were open to the Greek culture and may have been willing to sacrifice their beliefs for wealth and power. They took special exception to the belief in the existence of angels, resurrection, and life after death, beliefs held by the Pharisees, a religious reform movement that began in the century before Christ’s birth emphasizing fidelity to Jewish law through an elaborate system of oral laws that bolster the written Mosaic Law. This movement found its base in the local synagogue where scriptures and traditions were studied, and a strong sense of piety was nurtured. It is into this world of closely held ideas and tightly fought intellectual battles that Jesus comes to the poor and disenfranchised to turn the world order on its head.

For more on the similarities between the Pharisees and Sadducees, visit the Jewish Virtual Library at: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/sadducees_pharisees_essenes.html

St. Paul was a Pharisee who zealously defended the Jewish faith before becoming the feet of Christ to take the message of spiritual freedom into the world. Both the Pharisees and Sadducees jealously guarded the influence they had with the occupiers of their land; but we see without much effort the dichotomy between priestly sect and lay people, between temple and synagogue, between strict conservatism that sees the path to God through the temple sacrifice conducted by priests and the lay movement seeking to invigorate faith through instruction and fidelity to the Law. Both groups saw Jesus as a threat . . . for he came to set the faithful free from narrow constraints and corrupt hierarchies. Jesus reminds us repeatedly that there is indeed, a true path to God, but it is open to all. It charges no Temple tax and it requires only that its followers work in God’s vineyard to build God’s kingdom. The Temple is now Christ who lives in each of us. The Law of Moses is now fulfilled by the Law of Love that Jesus brings. The only tax we need pay is our allegiance to a loving God who welcomes all to the feast. And we will miss all of this if we are not watching for the resurrection that lives with and for and in us each day. When we focus on self, we become protective of all that we have built up like the Sadducees who question Jesus. We miss the truth that God uses each of us in God’s way to build The Kingdom that heals and saves. We miss the truth that Christ reveal to and in each of us . . . and we find that we have become easily and greatly misled.

Tomorrow, waiting for the resurrection . . .

For insights into Luke’s story of how Jesus interacted with his accusers, click on the image above or go to: https://www.lds.org/manual/print/new-testament-student-manual/introduction-to-the-gospel-according-to-st-luke/chapter-20-luke-23-24?lang=eng

Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.Glossary 433 and 436. Print.

Adapted from a reflection written on November 22, 2008.
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October 15, 2021

fidelity, Mosaic Law, Pharisees and Sadducees, St. Paul, the kingdom, The Temple
Matthew 5:38-48: A Prayer to Nourish Us Here and Now
Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Matthew 5:38-48

CNN News: Ukraine Protestors

We re-post this reflection written in 2014 in union with those who stand up for personal and communal freedom justice on every continent. The human race seems determined to create chaos rather than unity. Let us come together with all those who seek the common good. And let us pray not only for the oppressed but also for those who commit acts of oppression.

A Prayer to Nourish Us Here and Now

Matthew records the words Jesus speaks to those who gather round him when he describes the kingdom of God in the Beatitudes, the new Law of Love that supersedes the law of the Torah and Moses. We have spent much time this week reflecting on the Interior Law placed within each of us at our inception. This law flourishes in faith, grows in hope and acts in love. And so we pray, we look for strength as we build God’s kingdom.

BBC News: South Sudan in Crisis

You have heard it said, an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

Around the planet the peoples of the world constantly look for answers to difficult questions; they consistently yearn for security and peace; they continually hunger for the words that Jesus speaks in his Sermon on the Mount. And so we pray, we look for courage as we build God’s kingdom.

When someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one as well.

In Ukraine the people struggle to find leadership that is free of corruption. And so we pray, we look for integrity as we build God’s kingdom.

If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well.

In South Sudan the people struggle to live a life without fear. And so we pray, we look for justice as we build God’s kingdom.

Reuters: Thai Protestors Target Ministries and Threaten Stock Exchange

Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go for two.

In Thailand the people fight over who will bring them into the light. And so we pray, we look for truth as we build God’s kingdom.

Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow.

In Venezuela the people fight over how they will share the power of leadership. And so we pray, we look for peace as we build God’s kingdom.

You have heard it said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Swiss Broadcasting: Activists Injured by Gunshots

In West Virginia, USA the people ask for answers to dark questions. And so we pray, we look for compassion as we build God’s kingdom.

If you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

In our own home town the people ask for honesty and justice. And so we pray, we look for love as we build God’s kingdom.

We are not much different from those people who listened to Jesus two thousand years ago; we too, hunger for security, healing, truth, forgiveness and redemption.

Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. And so we pray, we look for endurance as we build God’s kingdom.

National Geographic News: West Virginia’s Chemical Valley

The perfection God asks of us lies not in our living a life without mishap; rather, it lies in our persistence to return to the Law of Love no matter how far we stray. The kingdom Jesus describes is not in some distant future when all God’s children have suddenly seen and corrected the errors in their lives. The kingdom of God is here and it is now. God’s forgiveness and mercy are here and now. God’s healing and presence are here and now. God’s compassion and love are here and now. Let us take strength from the one who created us, take heart from the one who accompanies us, and peace from the one who dwells within us. Amen.

To learn more about the stories shared in this prayer, click on the images above or go to: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/world/europe/ukraine-protests/, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25677297, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/14/us-thailand-protest-idUSBREA0B03C20140114, http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Activists_say_five_Venezuela_protesters_injured_by_gunshots.html?cid=37945644, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140116-chemical-valley-west-virginia-chemical-spill-coal/

For another Noontime reflection on these verses, enter the word Vengeance into the blog search bar and explore.
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March 3, 2021

compassion, faith, forgiveness, healing, honesty, hope, integrity, Interior Law, justice, kingdom-building, Law of Love, love, Mosaic Law, peace, truth
1 John 5:11-12: God’s Testimony
Sunday, January 10, 2021

The Baptism of the Lord

Today, as we recall Jesus’ willingness to submerge himself in the goodness of the Spirit, we mark the end of the liturgical celebration of Christmas. As we begin to plan the life we will lead once we can safely emerge from our pandemic lockdown, let us consider how we will let the gift of God’s testimony wash over us. How will we allow this heavy cleansing to renew us? How will we once again greet estranged sisters and brothers? How will we continue to live as Christmas people who bring light to a darkened world?

We do well to consider the Lord’s own testimony to us about God’s love of all creation.

1 John 5:11-12

Gerrit van Honthorst: Adoration of the Shepherds

God’s Testimony

And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son does not have life.

There is really no mystery about what God thinks of us. We are gifted with God’s presence in the child Jesus who grows into a man to sacrifice all for us. Jesus lives according to the Mosaic Law and then institutes a new law, the Law of Love. Through his living out for us this new law and through his sacrificial dying, Jesus brings us God’s testimony: life eternal.

There is really no struggle in finding union with God for God loves us dearly and constantly and already dwells in us. All we need do is acknowledge this presence. All we need do is allow ourselves to be children of God. All we need do is live this new Law of Love.

And so, we pray . . . Good and gracious God, we hear your testimony and still we doubt. Remind us that you are as gentle as the small child and as strong as the man who dies for all. Remind us that you dwell in each of us although we forget this too often. Remind us that with the birth of the child Jesus you offer us your testimony of light and love. Remind us that with your act of submission to baptism in the Spirit, you offer each of us the humility of this Jordan experience. Remind us that as we move closer to you we free ourselves to take up the invitation to become your Christmas people. Amen.

Spend time with a study Bible and 1 John 5:5-13. Read the commentary and decide how God’s Testimony calls us to be Christmas people.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_van_Honthorst_001.jpg
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January 10, 2021

Children of God, Christmas people, Law of Love, Mosaic Law