TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME AUGUST 30, 2015
When we say someone can’t see the forest for the trees, we usually mean they are so focused on something right in front of their nose that they lose the wider perspective and miss the whole point of what they are looking at or looking for.
And that is exactly the scene that is depicted in today’s gospel reading. Jesus is chastising the scribes and the Pharisees. He says they are so focused washing their hands and all their cups and vessels, they miss the whole point of God’s laws. All the laws of the Old Testament as well as the rules and regulations of our own faith today, are only valuable in the context of one’s relationship with God.
The Letter to the Ephesians tells us that the wonder isn’t that we have loved God, but that God first loved us and called us into being out of His love. All the laws and regulations flow forth from that relationship and only have meaning in that context. We follow the law of God as a loving response to his love for us. Focusing on the minute details of the law misses this wider perspective.
We are reminded then today that faith is not so much about keeping laws and holding to certain truths but more about the relationship between God and His people. From the beginning of time, God set up that relationship and continues to reveal Himself to us through relationships in life. “Where two or three are gathered in my name I am there in the midst of them”.
May we always treasure the relationships we have in life though they may not be perfect and know that God comes to us through them even in our lives today.