"Listen": A Reflection on the First Reading for September 2nd, 2018: Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deuteronomy 4.1-2, 6-8

​“Now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you.

“You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?”

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If I had a nickel for every time my mother said “listen” to me and I, in turn, said it to my children, I would be a wealthy woman. Why do we persist in reaching out this way? Well, when we love someone, we want them to thrive in life and to flourish in understanding. This is why we share with them the gift of our wisdom, in the hope of saving them the pain of learning life’s lessons all on their own. In sharing our experiences, we are sharing ourselves.

In the First Reading, Moses urges the Israelites to hear and obey the laws of the Lord: “Now listen. Listen carefully. Pay attention to what I am saying and consider it carefully. Why? Because what I am saying is the key to a just life, and because it will help you to become just and wise yourself.” Like any parent, the Lord wants a secure future for His children, and so He shares with them His wisdom, setting it “before” them like a gift, not upon them like a burden. In sharing His wisdom, He is sharing Himself. Therefore, the more we embrace His wisdom, the nearer we are to God.

In offering this beautiful gift, the Lord indicates the type of relationship He wants with us: not a dictatorship but, rather, a relationship that honours our free will. It is our choice to accept or reject a life that respects the laws of the Lord. The Lord never forces us to obey Him and, whatever our choice, He will never withhold His love.

However, if we do choose to enter into relationship with the Lord, what He seeks is a life-giving, most intimate relationship. In offering this beautiful gift, the Lord is offering us His very self. As Deuteronomy says, our God is with us. When we read Scripture and when we pray, the Lord speaks to us and we speak to the Lord, who is always ready to listen. As we grow closer to Him, His influence on us grows until His Presence informs everything we do. Our life becomes a God-centred life. And a God-centred life stands out because it is a thriving life. It witnesses to the world, through what we say and what we do, that the law of the Lord is not just a way; it is the Way. It nurtures a just society, which is good for everyone.

Listen. Choose. Speak. Witness. This is how we create, and sustain, our relationship with our loving Father, and how we can strive to live the just life He wants for us.

​Donna Davis

"As we grow closer to Him, His influence on us grows until His Presence informs everything we do." - Donna Davis (Ora Reflections)