No More and No Less – Just Right
Many years ago, when my children were in early elementary school, there was a program they enjoyed watching with their father. I think it was on NPR and I don’t remember its name. But one phrase repeated frequently during the program has remained with us to this day: “Measure carefully!”
The program featured a chef at a Western ranch. He used local ingredients and prepared what looked like delicious meals. It was not a competition like so many we see today, just the preparation of foods for guests at the ranch featuring ingredients more often seen as Western, including chilies.
The chef would get out a bowl as he explained what he was going to prepare. Then he would begin assembling the ingredients. One after another, he tossed them into the bowl and mixed them together. The amount of some things was clear – one egg, two carrots. But when it came to others, although he had a recipe, everything was approximate. As he put in a handful or two of flour, he would say, “Measure carefully.” As he shook the salt out of the shaker into the bowl, again, “Measure carefully.” The same went for spices such as red chili or coriander, and liquids. He might use a measuring cup, but it was far from an exact science in his kitchen. The amazing thing was that everything seemed to come out tasting good. At least the folks to whom the dishes were served always praised them!
Today as we cook, in our own homes or together, it’s not uncommon for someone to remark as they add a “glug of milk” or a “pinch of salt” or a “dash of chili” to the dish, “Measure carefully!”
Statutes and Decrees that are Just
As Moses neared the end of his life, he spoke to the people about their way of life and the commandments they had received from the Lord to govern their lives. The commandments dealt with many different facets of life, far more than the simple Ten Commandments which so many of us assume is the total sum of the Law. Ways of living, including what kinds of food could be eaten, how it was to be prepared, what rules of cleanliness applied in daily life, how to deal with illness and people who were ill, how strangers were to be treated, and much, much more were spelled out in the Law.
Moses told the people that they needed to observe the guidelines and rules of the Law if they were to enter into the Promised Land and take possession of it. The land was, in fact, already filled with other peoples who would not be happy to give it up. But the Lord would give it to them, provided they observed his commandments. They were to follow the commandments as received.
In following the commandments, the people would demonstrate to all the nations their wisdom and intelligence. Seeing this, the peoples of other nations would recognize the greatness of the Lord who had chosen them as his own. “You shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.” Seeing their life of obedience to the law, observers would know that no other nation “has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law…” or has a God so truly great and close to them in daily life. (Dt 4:1-2, 6-8)
The story of the Exodus and the Covenant, with the Law that laid out its terms, were written down long after the times in which they were reported to have happened. The book of Deuteronomy, for example, was composed many centuries after the Israelites had settled in the Promised Land. In those many years, the traditions and customs described in the book had developed and been influenced by those of surrounding peoples. The essentials of the relationship with God were unchanged. The Covenant that bound them together was still foundational. But many years of dealing with events that might not have been foreseen originally would have been included in the texts.
We see similar things in our lives today. A law is written and signed, but just what the day-to-day implications of that particular rule are sometimes takes a while to figure out. In some cases, entire governmental agencies are set up to administer the laws regarding a particular facet of our common life and to develop the specific details and rules for keeping everyone safe.
Both recipes and laws can have areas that are not always crystal clear in their implementation. Getting to a balance between too much and too little, meeting the intention of the original vision, can be a challenge.
Ritual Cleanliness and Purity
By the time of Jesus, the Law was very complicated. Its requirements were complex. Ritual purity was fundamental in daily life. Washing of hands in a ritually determined way before eating or when returning from the marketplace, the ritual purification of equipment used for cooking and eating or beds for sleeping, the restrictions on foods that could be eaten and how they were to be prepared – all were defined as part of the Law. The purity laws were based on understandings of how things are supposed to be, based on observation of how most things of a certain type are. For example, pigs are unclean because they do not chew their cud as other animals with cloven hooves do. A characteristic of their nature makes them ritually unclean – not a member of the club.
Jesus’ disciples, we are told, did not always cleanse their hands ritually before eating. When a group of Pharisees came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus, they noticed this behavior and confronted him. “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
Jesus didn’t try to explain why the ritual actions required by the purity code were not being followed. Instead, he quoted Isaiah’s condemnation of those whose outward behaviors are in conformity with what is legally required, but whose hearts are intent on something totally different. Human traditions and practices are not necessarily equivalent to God’s commandments. Unnecessary burdens have been added to the law of God.
Rather than require his disciples to change their approach and put ritual purity first, Jesus called the crowd and made his position clear. “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Human traditions can develop that add extra burdens which get in the way of living out the Covenant, living in close relationship with God.
Doers of the Word
St. James speaks of gifts, specifically those given by God. “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” God’s first gift is to give us life through the word of truth, a sharing in the life of Christ, the Word.
We who have received the word are to be doers, not simply hearers. If we are to be pure before God, unstained by the world, our response to the gift must be to take practical steps to help the afflicted, to do the works of justice. James speaks specifically about widows and orphans, the two groups of people in his time who had no one that would step up and protect or support them. Without a husband or a father for protection and support, they were the poorest of the poor and the most likely to be abused. (Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)
This imperative, this requirement of the Law, and the results of being doers of justice and mercy is key to a life of faith. Psalm 15 asks, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain?” The response is that those who walk blamelessly and do justice “will never be disturbed.” They are the ones who live in the covenant with the Lord.
We are called to be doers of the word, the word of justice and truth from the Father. We don’t have a recipe for every situation. We can’t fix the injustices that leave some folks needing to flee their homes and travel to a new place. We can’t personally feed every child or adult who has no income. We can’t declare peace on earth and have all wars and injustice stop.
But we can reach out in our own communities. We can smile at people we meet on the street as we wait for their dog to finish sniffing a fence so they can walk on their way. We can share the extra food from our gardens. We can help a child learn to read. We can help find work and food for refugees or low-income members of our communities. We can go the extra mile and accompany those who are ill or dying or mourning the loss of a loved one.
The limitations that our cultures and traditions put on reaching out in service are not always binding. Sometimes we need to remember that recipes don’t have to be followed as exactly as the mixing of a medication would require. Sometimes the social expectations with which we grew up need to be ignored or modified. Sometimes, we need to “Measure carefully” and toss in our hearts and our very being as we live the Covenant with our God. Then we will find that what results is just right. No more and no less.
Readings for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
