20190123 PRINCIPLES
OF A GOOD LAW
23 JANUARY,
2019, Wednesday, 2nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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You are a priest of the order of
Melchizedek, for ever
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You remember that Melchizedek,
king of Salem, a priest of God Most High, went to meet Abraham who was on his
way back after defeating the kings, and blessed him;and
also that it was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had. By
the interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of righteousness’ and
also king of Salem,that is, ‘king of peace’; he has no father,
mother or ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son
of God. He remains a priest for ever.
This
becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who
is a priest not by virtue of a law about physical descent, but by the power of
an indestructible life. For it was about him that the prophecy was made: You
are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and for ever.
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Responsorial Psalm
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You are a priest for
ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord’s revelation to my Master:
‘Sit on my right:
your foes I will put beneath
your feet.’
You are a priest for
ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord will wield from Zion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of all your
foes.
You are a priest for
ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
A prince from the day of your birth
on the holy mountains;
from the womb before the dawn
I begot you.
You are a priest for
ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
The Lord has sworn an oath he will not
change.
‘You are a priest for ever,
a priest like Melchizedek of
old.’
You are a priest for
ever, a priest like Melchizedek of old.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Heb4:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and
active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.Mt4:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the
kingdom
and cured all kinds of sickness among the
people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Is it against the law on the sabbath day
to save life?
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Jesus went into a synagogue, and there
was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if
he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against
him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up out in the middle!’
Then he said to them, ‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or
to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing. Then, grieved to
find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man,
‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was better. The
Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him,
discussing how to destroy him.
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ HEB 7:1-3, 15-17; PSALM 110:1-4; MARK 3:1-6 ]
There are two extreme groups of people when it comes to the
question of laws in their lives. There are those who advocate strict
observance of the laws, regardless of the context of the situation or the
persons. For them, laws are objective and must be applied
in all circumstances regardless. This was how the Pharisees and the
Scribes saw the Law during the time of Jesus. Indeed, they were not only
scandalized but also angry with Jesus for breaking of the Sabbath and other
customary laws. They were so obsessed with keeping the laws that they
became judgmental of those who did not keep the Law. So much so, they
forgot the subjects of the laws as in today’s gospel. They were oblivious
to the fact that the man was suffering from a withered hand. Instead, they
were all out to catch Jesus breaking the Law so that they could have something
to use against Him. In Jesus’ view, the human person and his needs must
come before the laws.
The purpose of the laws is to protect the person and not destroy
him. In their legalism, they forgot the real
intention behind the laws, such as the observance of the Sabbath in this
case. The Sabbath was to be observed for the good of man so that he can
rest properly and at the same time, recognize that God is in charge of the world
and his life. In this way, he can be freed from anxiety and simply do his
best, leaving the rest to God and His divine providence. As the psalmist
says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in
vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of
anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.” Ps 127:1f)
At the other end of the spectrum, we have those who advocate
absolute freedom from all laws. They seek absolute autonomy. In the name of
relativism, there are no laws that are right or wrong. They believe that
they should be allowed to act according to their whims and fancies. Such
people end in self-indulgence and lawlessness. This is not freedom but a
new form of slavery. When one is not able to exercise his choice in such
a way that brings about his ultimate good, he is not free but a slave.
The truth is that there is no absolute freedom in life. The only absolute
freedom is the ability to respond to the authentic call of God in our
lives. Freedom means the ability to determine for oneself the pursuit of
good over evil.
St Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “Now we know that the law is
good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is
laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the
godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father
or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars,
perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that
conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.” (1 Tim 1:8-11)
Laws, therefore, are necessary. Indeed, St Paul in his letter to the
Romans wrote at length that we are justified by faith, not by the laws.
However, in the last four chapters, he detailed the laws to be observed by the
Christians. These laws must be life-giving and serve the good of
the people.
Indeed, the guiding principle of all laws is love. St Paul wrote, “Owe
no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has
fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You
shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other
commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the
fulfilling of the law.” (Rom 13: 8-10)
This was precisely what the Lord asked the people, “Is it against the law on
the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?”
Good Laws must serve what is good and they serve life. Otherwise, it is a bad or unwise law. When the
law promotes evil or takes life away, it goes against the gospel. So,
when the Lord healed the man on the Sabbath, He was not showing contempt for
the Sabbath Law but bringing it to fulfillment because central to the Jewish
faith are the two commandments of love. “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our
God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mk12:29-31)
Love of God and of neighbor must go together, not one without the other.
These principles provide the foundation for Catholic social
teaching, which views man as a creature of God, possessing a unique value in
himself because he is created in the image and likeness of God. He has intrinsic value by his existence and by what he does. His life is therefore sacred
and must be protected at all costs. Even if it means breaking the
laws to save life. Nothing is greater or higher than a person’s
life. This is the basis for human rights. Indeed, we cannot
speak of human rights unless we agree on who the human person is. This is
because our understanding of the value of the human person grounds our reasons
for defending the dignity of the person. If the Church defends the right
to life for every human person, from conception to natural death, it is because
she sees the human person as having an intrinsic value of his own and not just
seen in a utilitarian manner. Man participates in the life of God and
therefore, created in His likeness and image, his life is to be preserved at all
costs. Thus, she opposes all forms of killing, murder, death penalty,
abortion, stem cell research using human embryos or euthanasia. Unless we
believe in the dignity of the human person, we cannot promote respect in other
areas as well, such as freedom of conscience, integral education, holistic
health, poverty, sexual morality and migration.
The second principle in formulating laws is that it must be for
the common good. In other words, it must for the good of all and not bring
about evil. Pope John XXIII defined the common good as “the sum total of
social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to
reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily.” (Pacem in
Terris 55). This means that we have to make possible the conditions
to achieve the potential realization of every human person which is to respond
to his or her vocation in life so that he or she can find fulfillment. To
achieve the common good does not mean individual sacrifice for the good of the
whole. Rather, it means that both the individual and the group’s
happiness are dependent on each other and so policies must help both the
individual and the community to find their fulfillment.
However, the common good does not tantamount to “the sum total of
particular interests; rather it involves an assessment and integration of those
interests on the basis of a balanced hierarchy of values;ultimately, it demands a
correct understanding of the dignity and the rights of the person.” (Centesimus
Annus 47). In other words, the common good is not something that we
vote for or what we all like. Truth is not based on consensus, popularity
or votes. Rather, the common good rests on two principles, common and
good. It is something that is common to all and it is something good.
In other words, it is not satisfying what people want e.g. taking drugs,
prostitution, pornography, gambling and all the other vices of society.
Rather, the common good refers to what helps to make us more authentic, more
human, humane and growing in truth and in love. The common good therefore
refers to all that enables a person to fulfill his or her vocation in life and
find fulfillment. This would include all the different dimensions of
being human, namely, physical, psychological, emotional and affective,
intellectual, spiritual, ethical and moral. Indeed, the ultimate common
good is not simply reducible to earthly and human needs but that each person
arrives at God, which is the ultimate good.
This common good entails that laws are enacted for the purpose of
establishing peace, harmony, mercy and care for the poor. To ensure peace, the State must bring about a just ordering of
society. Justice comes before charity. Social policies must be fair
and just; and at the same time, care and protect the poor. Society must be
gracious enough to look after the poor and the underprivileged. The rich
have a duty to care for those who do not have the basic needs of life.
The State should encourage social actions for the poor and the suffering.
How the poor is to be helped will differ from place to place.
Today, we are called to be bridge builders. We are called to be peacemakers, bringing life to others. We
must turn to Jesus and imitate Him in bringing life and love to all. Let
us be conscious that we are God’s messengers of life. Let us be
life-givers and always seek to do good. We must not allow
narrow-mindedness or selfishness or fear to limit us from caring and loving
people. Like Jesus, at times, we must go beyond the literal interpretation
of the laws and attend to the needs of the person. In the final analysis,
we are called to save life and give hope to others.
Written by The Most Rev
William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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