LOVE NEEDS THE LAWS AND THE LAWS NEED LOVE

20150717 LOVE NEEDS THE LAWS AND THE LAWS NEED LOVE

Readings at Mass

First reading

Exodus 11:10-12:14 ©

Moses and Aaron worked many wonders in the presence of Pharaoh. But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he did not let the sons of Israel leave his country.

  The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

  ‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but roasted over the fire, head, feet and entrails. You must not leave any over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you are to burn. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

Psalm

Psalm 115:12-13,15-18 ©

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord

  for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

  I will call on the Lord’s name.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

  is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

  you have loosened my bonds.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

  I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

  before all his people.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ps26:11

Alleluia, alleluia!

Instruct me, Lord, in your way;

on an even path lead me.

Alleluia!

Or

Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 12:1-8 ©

Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’

LOVE NEEDS THE LAWS AND THE LAWS NEED LOVE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: EX 11:10-12:14; MT 12:1-8

“What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.”  These words of Jesus are often misinterpreted as if there is a dichotomy between law and love, worship and mercy.  Taken out of context, it appears that Jesus was saying that sacrifice and, by extension, the laws are not necessary.  All that matters is the exercise of mercy and compassion.  If that were the case, why do we celebrate the Passover, as instructed in the first reading, or the Paschal feast every year, or even the Eucharist daily?  If love and mercy is sufficient, then there is no need for the Eucharist and other religious observances.

Yet, it is clear that Jesus did not come to abolish the laws or sacrificial worship.  He comes to fulfill the laws by perfecting them with love.  The issue is not whether the laws or works of mercy are more important.  What distinguishes the laws from mercy is whether it is motivated by love or not.  One can fulfill the religious observances without any love but merely because of fear or simply to gain merits.  Similarly, this applies to works of mercy as well.

Having made this clarification, there is another consideration as well in that the laws and love are complementary.  The truth is that the laws need love, for without love, the application of the laws can be against the interest and well- being of humanity.  A case in point is today’s incident in the gospel when the Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath law by plucking the ears of corn and eating them.  As far as Jesus is concerned, by being enslaved to the letter of the law of the Sabbath, it becomes an act lacking in charity.  For the original purpose of the Sabbath law is to enable man to recognize the sovereignty of God by refraining from work that simply focuses on oneself rather than the good of their fellowmen.

Interestingly, Pope Benedict XVI made a significant observation regarding the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “The Sermon on the Mount is not a social program per se, to be sure. But it is only when the great inspiration it gives us vitally influences our thought and our action, only when faith generates the strength to renunciation and responsibility for our neighbor and for the whole of society, only then can social justice grow.”  In other words, in order to fulfill either the Old or the New Laws, we need first to be inspired by love and faith.  So without love, the laws cannot be fulfilled in the spirit that they are intended.

Nevertheless, love needs the Laws to protect it.  Without the laws, men would forget how to love, or at times in their weakness, when their feelings are down, they would not have the capacity to love.  So when the enthusiasm weakens, the laws will help the person to fulfill his obligation to love.  In this way, laws ensure the exercise of mercy and love, regardless of the feelings of a person.  That is why we take vows and promises and we have rules, whether Church rules or organizations’ rules. Nevertheless, there is a priority between the laws and mercy.  It is love.  Without love, we cannot fulfill the laws.  The real exercise of the laws must flow from love and mercy.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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