Daily Retreat 06/25/08

2008 Jun 25 Wed: Ordinary Weekday 2 Kgs 22: 8-13; 23: 1-3/ Ps 118(119): 33. 34. 36. 37. 40/ Mt 7: 15-20   From today's readings:  "The king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow Him and observe His ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book....  Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of Your statutes, that I may exactly observe them.....  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves."   Re-learning the Lord's Law   Josiah was another good king (2 Kings 22:2) who sought to lead the nation back to God.  After he had given the order to repair the Lord's Temple, a great discovery was made there: the book of the law of the Lord (probably the book of Deuteronomy)!  It had been lost and forgotten during the reigns of evil kings who followed pagan gods, so it is providential that it was preserved at all, and then re-discovered at the proper moment.  This happened around 640BC - remember, at that time, even the Old Testament canon was far from being established, so there was absolutely no common notion of the Bible or Sacred Scripture, or the written Word of the Lord.   Instead of being satisfied with isolated verses and bits of the Bible, I always encourage people to read whole books, which is exactly what King Josiah did, who ordered that it be "read out to them, the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the Lord."  And that wasn't enough - Josiah followed up by leading the people in making a covenant to keep the law of the Lord.   Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, and although He even superseded some of the precepts of the old Law, He was emphatic that He did not come to abolish the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17).   The Ten Commandments, included in the Book of Deuteronomy (chapter five), were clearly re-affirmed in Christ's teaching.   You and I can take the time today to re-discover the Old Testament and imitate Josiah's example as we read and study whole books, committing ourselves to learning and living the Lord's law as we pray in the psalm, "Teach me the way of Your decrees, O Lord!" Fr. Rory Pitstick Our Lady of the Valley Parish 2511 N. Elmway Okanogan WA 98840 USA (509) 422-5049 "Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui." John 3:30