How do we think about God's law?
Today’s readings invite us to reflect on how we think about God’s law. Laws can set us on a path of binary thinking: Do this, not that. Follow this list of rules. Do not cross that line in the sand. Obey the law, and be rewarded. Disregard the law, and be punished. Laws are routinely misused by those in power to suppress, exclude, and burden. Yet at their core, God’s laws are neither good nor bad. They are a set of guidelines; community norms; policies and procedures; boundaries that exist to help us maintain healthy relationships with God and one another. They are the essential framework guiding every aspect of our common life. Like the rules parents give their children, they are meant to help us thrive. They are meant to guide us towards a life of abundance and joy, while cautioning us against choices that can lead to scarcity and loneliness. Our first reading is from Sirach , a book within the Apocrypha that is sometimes known as Ecclesiasticus. (1) The author is t