The harmony of unity

On the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy (1:1, 6-18) entitled "The last words of Moses in Moab". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Ephesians by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr. Saint Ignatius was a successor of Saint Peter as the bishop of Antioch. Condemned to death by being thrown to wild animals, he was brought to Rome for execution and was martyred there under the emperor Trajan in 107. On the journey to Rome, he wrote seven letters to different churches. In these he discussed Christ, the structure of the Church, and the Christian life in a manner at once wise and learned. At Antioch, this day was observed in his memory as early as the fourth century. The book of Deuteronomy ends the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch with a retrospective account of Israel's past—the exodus, the Sinai covenant, and the wilderness wanderings—and a look into Israel's future as they stand poised to enter the land of Canaan and begin their life as a people there. The book consists of three long addresses by Moses. Each of these contains narrative, law, and exhortation, in varying proportions. In an expansion of the first commandment of the decalogue, Moses tells the Israelites how to make a success of their life as a people once they are settled in the land. The choice presented to Israel is to love the Lord and keep his commandments, or to serve "other gods." That choice will determine what kind of life they will make for themselves in the land. Whichever choice they make as a people carries consequences, which Deuteronomy terms "blessing" and "curse." Thus, the book can be seen as a kind of survival manual for Israel in their life as a people: how to live and what to avoid. This gives the book its hortatory style and tone of life-or-death urgency.