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mensions with, frequently, bloody outcomes. In the Gospel passage, Jesus and
the Scribe together embrace the concept that both actions flow down the same
river of Love. Both faith and works stream from the spring of creation, first from
God to us, then from us back to God while, inescapably, prescribing us loving
each other and ourselves. This is the place where the worldly dualism of either/or
is transformed into the Divine dispensation of both/and.
Hosea and the psalmist each expressed the similar revelation that some things
are inextricably linked: no justice, no peace. Estrangement still contains the hope
of return. If you really desire true goodness in your lives, then it is mandatory
that you return to the source of that goodness, which is the same eternal source
of all goodness, God. Everything else is like taking a wrong turn in a maze; it
may look like a good idea at the time, but you are guaranteed to end up in a
roadblock of frustration.
Hosea guarantees, "Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but
sinners stumble in them." In the complexity of our daily lives, that may seem to
many of us like a bit of prophetic hyperbole, but the core sentiment is quite
sound. The problem is that precious few of us probably qualify as "the just," so it
shouldn't be too surprising when we, and many of those around us, seem to be
stumbling like sinners. However, the psalmist relays God's personal remem-
brance, "In distress you called, and I answered you." This is a memory that re-
verberates throughout all of our sacred literature. It is not merely a memory
though, because Jesus, in dying and rising in complete, joyful and eternal com-
pliance with those two "first" commandments, has promised that walking among
the "just" on that straight path of the Lord is, through His loving redemptive gift,
more a matter of sincere effort than perfect execution.
Prayer
Lord, guide me. Help me listen and act in Your love.
_______
Don Milici
Parishioner