Posted on 07/21/2018 8:43:37 AM PDT by Salvation
In the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 12:1-8), Jesus is rebuked for violating the Sabbath. This reminded me of the video below, which illustrates how we sometimes follow smaller rules while overlooking more important ones in the process.
The Lord Jesus was often scorned by the people of His day, who claimed that He overlooked certain details of the law (often Sabbath observances). But those who rebuked Him for this were guilty of far greater violations. For example,
Yes, they are straining out gnats but swallowing camels, maximizing the minimum but minimizing the maximum. Note that in the first passage above they are actually planning to kill Jesus for healing on the Sabbath!
Perhaps my all-time favorite illustration of this awful human tendency is in the Gospel of John:
Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out … (John 18:28-29).
They are plotting to kill a just and innocent man; indeed, they are plotting to kill God. They are acting out of wickedness, envy, jealousy, hatred, and murderous anger, but their primary concern is avoiding ritual uncleanliness! Yes, they are straining out gnats but swallowing camels.
We who are pious and observant need to be wary of this tendency. Sometimes in congratulating ourselves over adherence in lesser matters, we can either offend or neglect in weightier ones. Perhaps I attend Mass each Sunday (a grave obligation); perhaps I pray the rosary (a highly commendable practice); perhaps I tithe (a commendable precept). These are all things that ought to be done (one is commanded, one is commended, and one is a precept). But what if at the same time I am hateful toward someone at the office, unforgiving to a family member, and/or insensitive to the poor?
The danger could be that I let my observance of certain things allow me to think that I can “check off the God box” and figure that because I went to Mass, prayed the rosary, and gave an offering, I’ve “got this righteousness thing down.” Too often, very significant and serious things like love, mercy, forgiveness, and charity are set aside or neglected as I am busy congratulating myself over my adherence to other, sometimes lesser, things.
This oversight can happen in the other direction as well. Someone may congratulate himself for spending the day working in a soup kitchen, and think that he therefore has no need to look at the fact that he is living unchastely (shacked up, for example) or not attending Mass.
We cannot “buy God off,” doing certain things (usually things that we like) while ignoring others we’d rather not. In the end, the whole counsel of God is important.
We must avoid the sinful tendency to try to substitute or swap, to observe a few things while overlooking others.
We see a lot of examples of this in our culture as well. We obsess over people smoking because it might be bad for their health while ignoring the health consequences of promiscuous behavior, which spreads AIDS and countless venereal diseases and leads to abortion. We campaign to save the baby seals while over a thousand baby humans are killed each day in the United States. We deplore (rightfully) the death of thousands each year in gun homicides while calling the murder of hundreds of thousands of babies each year a constitutional right. The school nurse is required to obtain parental permission to dispense aspirin to students but not to provide the dangerous abortifacient “morning after pill.” We talk about the dignity of women and yet pornography flourishes. We fret endlessly about our weight and the physical appearance of our bodies, which will die, and care little for our souls, which will live. We obsess over carbon footprints while flying on jets to global warming conferences at luxurious convention center complexes.
Yes, we are straining gnats but swallowing camels. As the Lord says, we ought not to neglect smaller things wholly, but simply observing lesser things doesn’t give us the right to ignore greater ones.
Salus animarum suprema lex. (The salvation of souls is the highest law.) While little things mean a lot, we must always remember not to allow them to eclipse greater things.
The ideal for which to aim is an integrated state in which the lesser serves the greater and is subsumed into it. St. Augustine rightly observed,
Quod Minimum, minimum est, Sed in minimo fidelem esse, magnum est (St. Augustine – De Doctrina Christiana, IV,35).
(What is a little thing, is (just) a little thing, but to be faithful in a little thing is a great thing.)
Notice that the lesser things are in service of the greater thing—in this case fidelity. And thus we should rightly ask whether some of the lesser things we do are really in service of the greater things like justice, love, mercy, fidelity, kindness, and generosity. Otherwise we run the risk of straining out gnats but swallowing camels.
Enjoy this commercial, which illustrates how one rule (no loud voices in the library) is observed while violating nearly every other.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
A good video clip to demonstrate the homily.
However, we spoke in normal voices in the Army library/archive that I ran for 14 years and did NOT allow patrons to eat or drink, thus no need for these type of arguments. (smile)
A good video clip to demonstrate the homily.
However, we spoke in normal voices in the Army library/archive that I ran for 14 years and did NOT allow patrons to eat or drink, thus no need for these type of arguments. (smile)
He’s not Jesus by a long shot, but this is exactly what modern day Pharisees are trying to do to Trump - get him on some piddly presumed offense while the more important things are ignored.
Nuclear weapons? Syria? NATO burden sharing? North Korea missiles?
Nah! It’s Russian meddling.
Another example, I think, is when people are willing to believe that God created the universe, but hold that Jesus’ miracles would be beyond Him.
As this article mentions both Pharisees and Herodians....both different belief systems.....I am not sure how this qualifies as a Caucus thread.
Nah! It’s Russian meddling.
If you are a powerful nation you meddle, it’s what you do.
We do it, Britain does it, Germany does it, China does it, Russia does it.
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
It’s a good article.
But NO ONE should have to read through a thread to find out if it’s caucused or not.
If it’s not in the title for all to see, it’s open.
No retroactive claims of caucus should be valid.
If you forgot, you forgot. Life happens.
I take that back.
It’s not a good article.
It’s an EXCELLENT article.
This is a good example of what we’re getting at on the other thread.
From the Religion Moderator’s page.
Religion Forum threads labeled “Caucus”
Caucus threads are closed to any poster who is not currently and actively a member of the caucus group.
For instance, if it says “Catholic Caucus” and you are not currently, actively Catholic, then do not post to the thread.
However, if the poster of the caucus invites you, I will not boot you from the thread.
The “caucus” article and posts must not compare beliefs or speak in behalf of a belief outside the caucus.
There is little to no tolerance for non-members of a caucus coming onto the caucus thread to challenge whether or not it should be a caucus. Gross disruption usually follows.
If you question whether the article is appropriate for a caucus designation, send me a Freepmail. I’ll get to it as soon as I can.
The article notes two other religious groups.....the Pharisees and Herodians. Neither of those are Roman Catholic.
Those are not current religious groups as listed in the topics. I believe a mistake was made.
I don't find anything on the RM's page about groups having to be "current".
Nor does it say anything that they might be ancient forerunners of Christianity.
The Pharisees are a different religious group that are not Roman Catholic. The mention of them violates the Caucus rules.
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