Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 23, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Exodus 20:1-17
God gives his law to his people soon after they get out of Egypt. This is not just to keep them in order, but is as much a part of their liberation as was the crossing of the Red Sea. All good law is liberating because it frees us from various kinds of oppression. The discipline that accompanies law takes from us the burden of randomness and insensitivity.
God’s commands are not orders from the boss–a list of what we have to do to keep him happy. They are rather, the manual of instructions about how we work best. We are happiest when we follow the directions that God has given us. The commandments are gifts–not burdens–and they call for our gratitude.
