B: Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (30 May 2021) - LAWS AND WORDS (Deut 4:32-34, 39-40)

“Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?” (Deut 4:34).

This statement is the remark of Moses as his way of enjoining his fellow Israelites, who were still half-hearted in their faith in YHWH. Moses delivered a long address here, i.e., Deut 1:1–4:43, talking about their recent victories (e.g., over Sihon in 2:24-37 and Og in 3:1-21) through the supernatural intervention of YHWH and their ensuing possession of the so-called Promised Land that was gradually unfolding (3:12-22). To prepare the Israelites into the latter, Moses was explaining in detail the Law they received from YHWH.

Rightfully, this book is called Deuteronomy, derived from the two Greek words “deutero” (“second”) and “nomos” (“law”), denoting that Moses’s aim was to underscore God’s fidelity and love of them over the years by his given set of laws. The Hebrew name of the Book of Deuteronomy, however, has a different sense. It is “devarim” (“words”), derived from its first verse “haddevarim asher dibber mosheh el kol yisrael,” i.e., “the words that Moses spoke to all Israel.” With these two titles of this 5th book of the Torah (i.e., the collection of the first five books of the Scriptures), “laws” and “words” are intertwined with each other, especially in relation to faith and worship. Thus, “laws” can be seen as words of concern and thoughtfulness, while “words” can be read as a gentle reminder of caution and a map for truthful direction.

On the one side, YHWH’s laws can be viewed as his show of care and protection of the Israelites. It is evinced in the words of Moses, “Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon or destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them” (Deut 4:31). Simply put, when God established his laws, he was ensuring that the same covenant of intimate relationship of old is preserved among the Israelites in Moses’s time. Laws, then, manifest God’s fidelity and his perpetual protection of his chosen people.

On the other side, YHWH’s words can be understood as his way of keeping the Israelites in the right path so that they would reach and possess the Promised Land victoriously. Accordingly, in our first reading today, Moses reminded his companions, “And you must keep his statutes and commandments which I command you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever” (4:40). Words, hence, connote God’s directional guide to his people toward the attainment of their success and happiness with their reacquisition of their homeland.

In our present context, we tend to put a negative meaning on both laws and words. Laws are generally perceived as restrictive of freedom, while excessive and long words are normally taken as an infringement of one’s privacy. While these reactions may have some valid points, let us not forget that laws and words, especially when they are genuine and sincere, may be indicative of someone’s concern too. While it is meritorious to be critical of laws and words, let us not completely disregard the basic principles behind their construction especially when they are discerned to be in harmony with Christian values and in pursuit of the welfare of all.

- Rex Fortes, CM