March 18/Second Tuesday of Lent
Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself?
To him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” ~ Ps 50.16-17, 21, 23
Today, the psalmist reminds us that, while God may be slow to anger and abounding in kindness, his patience is not endless. His forbearance at an end, God rebukes us for our hypocrisy in the impassioned tones of a righteous prosecutor (forgive the tautology, my lawyer friends). We must not gloss over the vehemence of these verses. The language is strong: twice God cries, “I rebuke you.” The verbs are forceful: we are indicted on charges of “hating” discipline and “casting” (literally, “flinging”) God’s words behind us. The question is accusatory. “Why,” God demands, “do you recite my statutes and profess my covenant with your mouth?” We are guilty as charged. Like the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus excoriates in today’s Gospel, we preach, but do not practice. We pay lip service to the Ten Commandments – but who among us has not coveted a friend’s good fortune, or “killed” with the sharp word or the overly-critical eye? We dutifully recite the Lord’s Prayer – but what have we done to bring about God’s kingdom on earth, or to forgive others’ trespasses? We profess an ethic of tolerance – but do we not at the same time judge others who are different from us? While we may fool the world, we never, ever fool God; God is neither deaf nor blind to our transgressions. And he rightly convicts us of what one biblical commentator called “the disparity . . . between confession and conduct.” We are headed for a life sentence of alienation – imprisoned in the separation from God that is the essence of sin. But ever-merciful, God offers us an alternative: to choose the “right way.” The way to salvation for each of us may vary, but it will ultimately be the way and the truth of life in God.
Lord Jesus Christ, Help me find in you my way, my truth, and my life. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031825.cfm
To hear contemporary Christian songwriter and singer Keith Green (d. 1982) sing “To Obey is Better than Sacrifice,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHrK-IJtG6g
