The rules that hold us together

The rules that hold us together

Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky

Every organization has rules. From neighborhood association bylaws to the U.S. Constitution, rules hold us together. We may not like it, but it’s a fact. Even mobsters are bound by their own rules.

In a modern gangster movie, a mobster “whacks” a “made man” without authorization from the Godfather, violating their rules. Here is the dialog of the underboss warning the mobster:

“You know, I've clipped a lot of guys in my life. Close friends. Guys I didn't know. I didn't always agree that the guy should be clipped. But I never questioned the orders and I never went off half-cocked and clipped somebody I wasn't supposed to! If Don Carlo had said you gotta go I would've come here today with these two zips and you would go. You cannot whack a made man on somebody else's crew! There are rules! You break the rules, and everything of ours cracks and crumbles! You never break the rules… Let's drink to that: ‘La familia. And the rules that hold us together.’ Capiche?”

Would that we Christians have at least the Mafia baseline in understanding the importance of following the rules!

Jesus links the Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments with Himself: "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Mt. 5:17) Saint Andrew of Crete explains, “The fulfillment of the law is Christ Himself, who does not so much lead us away from the letter as lift us up to its spirit” (Oratio 1: PG 97, 806-810). In fulfilling the Law in His Person, Jesus concludes, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) The love in our personal relationship with Jesus is measured by the extent we keep His commandments.

But it’s easy to become hard of hearing when we are required to live according to God’s rulebook. As an old tune has it -- “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” So like the gangster with his own agenda, we craft our own rules and become entrenched in our own prejudices.

In a recent post on the Daily Beast internet site, the writer imposes his own ideological prejudices on “conservative” (read: “believing”) Catholics: Believing Catholics “don’t want to be cool.” They “long for the cold church, the one that protected them from the outside world behind layers of immovable doctrine.” They “prefer punishing the sinners and adhering to archaic rules that have little place in the modern world, even if it meant sacrificing the flock.” They “don’t want to forgive the sin of abortion to repentant women.” They “bristle when people are nice to gays” (https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-plot-to-bring-down-pope-francis?yptr=yahoo).

Very little can be done to dislodge the writer from these hilarious prejudices except to insist: We don’t make the rules. And we all – especially the clergy -- need God’s grace to overcome our prejudicial deafness. Just as homeowner associations have compliance inspectors and commercial properties have fire inspectors, we need to be reminded of the rules by designated prophets. All of this is necessary because we’re prone to hear what we want to hear and to disregard what is bothersome.

The Old Testament prophets are instruments of God’s grace to open ears. God calls the prophets to indict us for violating His rules. A prophet’s job seldom brings instant success. The prophets aren’t readily heard because when we find ourselves unable to disregard what we don’t want to hear, in arrogant self-righteousness we usually punch back. Fallen human nature is a stubborn thing.

So a prophet’s job is usually tough. (Jonah’s success with the Ninevites is a rare triumph). Time and again the prophets are persecuted and their frustrations and suffering make their job rather unappealing. The prophet Jeremiah’s lament is all too easy to understand: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” (Jer. 20:7) But like it or not, God’s rules are the rules that lead us to salvation. There is no other way.

Undoubtedly, His commandments can be tough, or at least inconvenient in a hostile culture. So a little curiosity about His commandments would help begin to dislodge our own introspective and self-serving rules of conduct as we open our hearts to receive His grace. We will not be disappointed: “And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:35)

Only the rules of Jesus hold us together as believing Catholics. And when we break the rules on a grand and widespread scale, this entire organization of ours cracks and crumbles, at least humanly speaking. Saint Leo the Great is a bit more eloquent as he reminds us: “Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and the closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God. Alliances based on evil desires, covenants of crime and pacts of vice—all lie outside the scope of this peace.” (Sermo 95, 8-9: PL 54, 465-466)

But the rhetoric of the Mafia underboss also has a certain practical appeal: “So never break the rules! Let's drink to that: ‘To our Catholic family! And the rules of Jesus that hold us together!’ Capiche?”