VALUING GOD'S LAW - C: 15th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Deut 30:10-14 (10 July 2022)

“No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Deut 30:14).

The text of Deuteronomy 30 is part of the parting words of Moses to the Israelites. In the next chapter, he would bluntly admit, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you” (v. 2). The course of the narrative describes how he entrusted Israel to Joshua’s leadership (v. 7ff.), wrote down the law and a song (vv. 9ff.), and handed them to the Israelites (v. 19) and the Levites (v. 25) so that they would be faithfully observed in posterity.

Soon, in chapter 32, after reciting this song to the Israelite assembly, Moses said, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law” (v. 46). In Mt. Nebo, he was asked by God to climb to meet his death. The reality is that he was not allowed to enter the Promise Land because, as God explained, “This is because both of you [i.e., Aaron and Moses] broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites” (v. 51; cf. Num 27:14). God was referring to an earlier incident in Kadesh when Moses disobeyed God’s specific instruction to strike the rock once so that water would pour out to quench the people’s thirst (Num 20:8). Apparently doubting the power of this command, Moses struck the rock twice instead (v. 11). This act angered the Lord who reprimanded him,

“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them” (v. 12).

True enough, Moses died in Moab, unable to enter the Promise Land (34:5).

Given this narrative context, we now understand better the tone of Moses as he speaks in Deuteronomy 30. In a way, he was enjoining the Israelites to value God’s Law which embodies the presence of the Lord among them. He was probably in remorse here, given the fact that he had failed to observe it himself, leading to his punishment of not achieving the common goal of reaching their home. Hence, he was speaking from his personal experience of falling short of grasping the crown of victory. He warned his compatriots not to lose their focus on this prize by appreciating God’s abiding presence in them as well as keeping well his commands always.

In particular, Moses charged the Israelites to cherish the Law, arguing, “It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear it and keep it.’ Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will cross the seas for us and bring us back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it’” (v. 12-13). He finally concluded, “No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance” (Deut 30:14).

This sequence of sermon teaches the people to emphasize one thing, i.e., God is constantly with them as present in the Law and they should value it always.

While the cases of Covid-19 infections continue to arise, we can categorically claim that we are out of the woods. Most of the populace have been vaccinated and boosted against the virus and the public has learned how to live with it without being lethally jeopardized. The human body and society have both adapted to the so-called new normal, in such a way that we can function as a community amid the lingering pandemic phenomenon. However, we should heed Moses’s reminder to treasure every moment of our lives, despite keeping up with the high demands of God’s law. It is because God’s law is the thing that will ensure the continuous presence of God that we constantly need in battling and winning against the challenges of life.

- Rex Fortes, CM