Although our initial reaction to a list of rules is somewhat negative, seeing them as restrictions on our freedom, no society or human group can succeed without rules. Take traffic regulations, for example: while they are not perfect, as nothing human-made is, their purpose is to allow us to reach our destination without harming ourselves or others. If someone has a misguided concept of freedom, thinking it means they can do whatever they want, and decides to drive on the right side of the road in a country where driving is on the left, we all agree that such reasoning is madness. However, when it comes to God’s law, many think this way, and what are the consequences?
In today’s first reading, Moses helps the people of God understand that God’s law is a gift of His infinite Love: "Ask about the past... has any god ever tried to choose a people for himself... by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" God had just freed them from the slavery of Egypt and performed many wonders for them in the desert. Moses is telling the people: "See how much God loves you, accept this law from His hands." "Observe, therefore, the decrees and commands I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you...".
God's Law is the foundation of every civilised society, and this is especially true for the first three commandments concerning our relationship with God. A person who denies the existence of God, or as many do today, is indifferent to whether God exists or not, makes himself a god, and thus respect and love for one another vanish. True freedom becomes "I do what I want and what suits me," and man ceases to love but begins to trample on others to seemingly keep himself upright.
What a great grace the Eucharist is, what a great grace it is to hear the Word of God inviting us to introspect and reflect on what is happening in our hearts. "The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love." Without the Lord, there is no righteousness or justice, and without Him, there is no true love.
Today we are celebrating the feast of the Holy Trinity. God is a community of perfect love: it is impossible to fully understand God, how can you comprehend that God is one and three Persons? Love gives us a glimpse of this; when two people love each other, we say they are "one heart and one soul." Love draws two towards each other, making them, so to speak, resemble each other. Our God is spirit, and thus the love between persons is so perfect that although they are three distinct persons, the unity of love among them is so perfect that they are not three gods but one God. St John gives us the most beautiful definition of God when he tells us "God is Love," so anyone who distances themselves from God is distancing themselves from love.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the apostles and us to spread this news to the ends of the earth, news that is not just news but the greatest gift ever given, that is, the love of God. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was right when she said that among all the poverty she experienced in her life, the worst form of poverty is spiritual, that is, where there is no God.
We ask ourselves: what is my view of God’s law, and how much do I believe that what God asks of me, He asks out of love for me? How much respect and reverence do I have for God in my words and deeds because I believe that no one loves me as much as He does?
We ask You, Lord our God, instil in us an ever greater love for You, and help us believe that if we distance ourselves from You, we are losing the most important thing in life, that is, the love that gives meaning to our lives.
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