There are Christians who object to Lent. They say that we don't need to fast because we don't need to obey silly man-made rules that don't affect our Salvation. Indeed, some folk seem to think that those of us who hold to liturgical rules and practices aren't doing Christianity very well. And they will say that St Paul agrees with them.
But does he?
[PAUSE]
When St Paul talks of Law, he is usually talking about the Jewish Law with all its complexity. This will include the kosher laws and the sacrifice system. St Paul is clear that we are not saved by the Law of the Old Covenant but rather that it exists to hold God's people together until the Messiah comes. Those who try to enforce the Jewish Law on Christians are missing the point, says St Paul. Those who try to force the Law on Christians are shown to be foolish by the very Law that they profess. They are like Hagar: slaves to the Law, unable to be truly free. They lack the life of Sarah which is free and in command of itself. It is in the life of the free that we become the people that we are meant to be. We become free to be excellent in the eyes of God.
[PAUSE]
Those who seek to impress the Jewish Law on Christians do so in the sense of being masters and signalling virtue. This is empty and devoid of true virtue because it is virtue for the eyes of men and not God. True virtue is obtained by sincerity to God. We obey the rules of the Church not to be seen to be good but to be good. But why is this different from those who impose the Jewish Law?
Actually the real and more important question is how do we become good in the first place? Where does this goodness come from? Surely we cannot do good of ourselves. We cannot make ourselves good by ourselves.
[PAUSE]
Well, this is what the sacraments are for. Baptism and Confirmation welcome the Holy Ghost into our lives to give His grace - His active presence in our lives - to cleanse us and regenerate us into to the life of Christ. And the life of Christ is good.
Further, in the Holy Eucharist, we receive the substance of God into our own substance. And Christ is good, so we are restored in His goodness. So by God's grace we can choose to do good things. And, because we are free in Christ, we can choose to do good of our own free will because the Spirit of God dwells in us.
But what of the rules? Why is it important to get the liturgy right?
[PAUSE]
Rules don't just regulate, they measure too. They help us to see the progress we are making. They represent a standard that we should try to achieve and from which we benefit. In observing fasts and feasts, we exercise our souls to align to Christ in Whom we are truly free.
To want to say our liturgy well is to express the value that God has in our lives. It shows God's worth in our lives - it is worship and we are commanded to worship for our greatest good - life in God Himself.
To follow the rules of Liturgy is to exercise God's gift to us. It puts us in mind of Him. It helps us see the goodness in which we live our lives and which ought to burn brightly in us. This is not Law and yet we keep the Law by exercising our faith in God.
[PAUSE]
The Jewish ritual laws of the Old Tests have no binding on Christians. But the Jewish moral laws do because they are rooted in the worship of God. Moral Laws are about our relationship with God and do not change. This is why the Ten Commandments still apply but the law of Circumcision does not.
Whilst we love Jewish brothers and sisters dearly, we are not bound by their laws. By accepting His Grace, we are bound to Christ in His Incarnation. By accepting the burden of our cross, we are bound to Him in His suffering and death. By accepting the truth, we are bound to Him in His Resurrection. That is what being Law-abiding Christians is all about.
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