Mtr Mary Trainor

Dear friend,

My two closest friends in high school were fundamentalist Christians. They believed the Bible to be the literal word of God, and the commandments to be hard and fast  rules. There was no wiggle room. You did not murder, rob, covet or lie. Period.

On its face, that’s a position many might take. For someone like me, though, there always seems to be a shade of gray that confuses and confounds.

One of those friends was approached by a boy who wanted to go out with her. She did not want to go out with him because he didn’t attend her church. But when he said he would call her over the weekend, she was unable to respond.

The weekend came. And every time the phone rang, she would run to the bathroom, jump in the tub, so her mother could tell any caller, “I am sorry, she can’t come to the phone right now, she’s in the tub.”

She was, of course, in the tub. Just not in the way any caller would imagine. She and I went round and round on this. I maintained she deceived, which was the same as a lie. She believed the literal truth of her claim exonerated her.

So, who was right?

This same conundrum is at the root of the exchange between some Pharisees and Jesus in today’s Daily Office selection from Mark (2:23-3:6.) How does one keep the Sabbath holy? How does one keep God’s law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai?

These Pharisees argue that harvesting food and healing human beings is “work” and, thus, doing these things dishonors the Sabbath. Jesus says they are missing the point: Sabbath is meant to serve God’s people.

This is not really a debate, of course, because Jesus shares the mind of God, and thus knows the commandment’s intent. He is trying to widen their view of the law (not abolish the law) to embrace God’s spirit. These Pharisees and many of today’s believers resist Jesus’ perspective.

Complying with a set of fixed rules, without question or analysis, pleases God. Or so many believe.

Such reductionism—oversimplifying—carries a price tag. To rigidly follow a rule as a means to safety and security may obscure the “love God, love neighbor” part of Jesus’ message. 

The alternative to reductionism is challenging, too, like driving through an intersection with a flashing yellow light. Always a bit of a risky proposition. The risk is to settle for “living” and miss being “fully alive.”

I’m a long way from high school now, and some things are still difficult to figure out. I don’t always know what is the right thing to do. I don’t know if my friend’s claim to be in the bathtub was a lie or a loving act.

The ambiguity is uncomfortable, but the faithful have the living God as their guide.

Mtr. Mary
...while Fr. Mark is away.