If you watch tv, you’ll notice commercials for video games. Some of these games are incredibly realistic and detailed. As a matter of fact, there are times when I have to take a second look to see if what is on tv might be real footage or simply scenes from some new game. But the video game started very humble and simple. The first real arcade game was released in 1972. It was named Pong and the arcade version was the size of a refrigerator. Pong was a simple game by today’s standards, two people trying to keep a ball from going out on their side while attempting to make the ball go out of bounds on their opponent’s end. This was accomplished by moving a small bar up and down on the screen to hit the ball, which never stopped moving. This game was a huge hit and it paved the way for many other video games, which slowly became more complex and involved. For example, eight years later, Pac-Man was released, which was far more advanced than Pong. Then came Nintendo and Mario Brothers, Sega and Sonic the hedgehog, Playstation and Gran Turismo, which led to the games we see now, which are incredibly addictive, intense, and difficult because of how realistic they are. It’s really pretty amazing if you stop and think about it. Over the past 40 years, games have slowly evolved from Pong, where you could only move up and down in two dimensions to now where the characters can move up, down, left, right, lean, crawl, jump run, walk and interact, all in a 3-d environment that changes with the choices the gamer makes.
This change didn’t happen overnight. It happened little by little, layer by layer as programmers came to a greater understanding of how to write code and computers and game consoles were capable of handling more advanced concepts. So what’s the point of this obscure history lesson? Well, just as gaming has grown in its complexity and depth, so too has our understanding of the moral law as laid out in the readings today. Notice how humanity has slowly, with God’s help, come to a rich and deep understanding of the law, as God has placed it in our hearts.
Think back to the very first commandment that God gave the human race. It was so simple, so basic, just like that first video game! He said, “you are free to eat of whatever tree you like, just stay away from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This one law, this one commandment our first parents could not obey. But God did not give up on us nor did he refuse to teach our stubborn souls. As time went on and humanity grew in its knowledge of right and wrong and of God himself, God began to reveal more of the law to his people. In the first reading, He speaks through Moses as he promises life to those who commit themselves to keeping his commandments. The prophet says, “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live. In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations”
This is where God gives the ten commandments to his people and here, the law gets a little more detailed. Israel gets a little more knowledge into the law and the God who gave it to them. God wants them to know the law because it will help them to know him. The way that they show their love for God is to keep the laws he has given them. Each law has a purpose, not a single one is arbitrary or frivolous. If you read the Old Testament, you will see this pattern emerging: God reveals himself through the Law and he does this little by little, law by law, layer by layer.
In the second reading from St. James, another dimension of God’s law is manifested. St. James advises us, “Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” Here we are encouraged to examine our hearts and see how well we actually do God’s law, taught to us in his holy Word. It is not enough to simply know it or hear it. It has to be practiced in our daily actions and become part of who we are as his followers. What we believe and how we act need to be one and the same with the Word of God. If they are not, we aren’t truly living his law and we won’t be found worthy of eternal life.
These are the first two parts of God’s law: learning or knowing it and then actually doing it. But there is one more dimension, laid out for us in the gospel. Jesus and his disciples are being observed by the scribes and pharisees while they eat. This group complains because they see some of the apostles neglecting the ceremonial washing of hands before they begin their meal. Now the scribes and pharisees knew God’s law and technically they followed it perfectly, down to the little traditions like washing ones hands. But they ignored the third and most important dimension of the law: they didn’t embrace the Law in their hearts and they refused to go any deeper than the appearance of being righteous. This is why Jesus condemns them and their hypocrisy. They know and follow the Law for other people to see and admire but their hearts are far from being in the right place. On the outside they appear spotless and virtuous but on the inside they are proud, arrogant, and sinful. When they observe the laws of God, they honor him with their lips but have all sorts of evil designs in their heart. They are missing this all-important 3rd dimension of God’s law; knowledge and doing are not enough.
This should make us pause and ask ourselves about our own intentions when it comes to the Law of God. Do we have all three dimensions working in our own lives? Do we truly know the moral law as it has been handed down through Scripture and the traditions of the Catholic Church? If we know these teachings, which are a revelation of who God is, do we also practice them in the way we think, speak, and act? Finally, in knowing and doing the Law of God, do we embrace it with our whole heart, out of love for our creator? Do we see our obedience to the law as a way to worship him? Or, do we keep the laws so that we can compare ourselves to others and feel self-righteous? Perhaps we do what is right for others to see while harboring evil in our hearts?
As Christians, we are living in the most advanced stage of the of the moral law; we are not playing pong when it comes to knowing and following the Law! As disciples of Christ, we must incorporate all three aspects into the way we live. We cannot separate any of them from who we are or we risk becoming hypocrites. Knowing, doing, and loving God’s law will enrich our lives and deepen our understanding of God himself. The reason we are here on earth is to know, love, and serve God and the moral law is one of the primary tools that enables us to do so. May you find the Law to be life-giving to you and may it bring you closer to God and neighbor every time you observe it.
