23 July 2021
Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.”
All week we have been hearing about God as divine shepherd over his people. He has defended, fed, tended, and guided his people in our readings. Today, we hear about the giving of the law to his people. A shepherd has a staff which can be used to guide and direct the sheep, and the law is a kind of staff which God offers to his flock to guide and direct them. Each commandment itself is worth meditating upon, as is the order of the commandments and what this reveals about life in God’s flock. But today, we pray with the notion of law itself.
The Psalmist writes that “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.” This joyful exclamation hides within it a question for us: can we make these words of the Psalmist our own? Do we find the law of the Lord perfect, refreshing, trustworthy and a source of wisdom? If we are honest, our answer is probably mixed. At times we can speak these words of the psalmist with joy, and at other times, perhaps, aspects of God’s law have given us pause or caused us to grumble, doubt, or even disobey. A lesson from the book of Exodus is that God desires to give his people new life and a new freedom, but that this new life and freedom occurs by means of God’s commandments and law. God’s law is a pathway to freedom, not a barrier to it. When we taste frustration, pain, and discomfort at God’s law, perhaps this is a sign of aspects of our life that still need to be purified and perfected by grace and God’s love. Thus, the law doesn’t just guide but it can also reveal to us areas and ways for growth in prayer and virtue. Let us reflect upon the words of the Psalmist and see where the Lord is inviting us to grow in following his law in our life.