20250326 THE PLACE OF THE LAW IN CHRISTIAN LIFE
26 March 2025, Wednesday, 3rd Week of Lent
First reading |
Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9 |
Keep these laws and observe them
Moses said to the people:
‘Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you.
‘See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?
‘But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 147:12-13,15-16,19-20 |
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates
he has blessed the children within you.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Or: | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel | Matthew 5:17-19 |
I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
THE PLACE OF THE LAW IN CHRISTIAN LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Deut 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19]
There are two opposing groups of people in the world, the legalists versus the antinomians. The latter are those Christians who reject all laws in the name of freedom of the Spirit. In our times, in the context of secularism and atheism, laws are rejected in favour of relativism, where human freedom is invoked. Indeed, in the name of freedom, there is no morality, no laws and no right or wrong.
What, then, is the Christian attitude towards the Law? Our attitude must be that of Jesus. In the gospel today, He decreed, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.”
What is this Law that Jesus is referring to? Firstly, the Law refers to the Ten Commandments. Secondly, the Law could also refer to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, for which the Jews have the highest regard. Thirdly, the Law and the Prophets refer to the entire Old Testament. With respect to these variant understandings of the Law, Jesus is saying, we must observe them faithfully, even to the last iota. In other words, with respect to the principles enumerated in these laws, they should be kept. Indeed, as Jesus commented, “Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.”
So, what are the laws that are rejected by the Lord and St Paul? These are the laws that pertain to the Oral Tradition that had been passed on over time and the detailed elaboration of the laws by the scribes. Such oral laws were only collected into a book called the Mishnah in the 3rd Century. Later on, there were even commentaries on the Mishnah which are called the Talmud. An analogy would be our Canon Law. The latter is but an elaboration of the principles of justice and love enumerated in the Bible. Canon Laws are specific applications of the Christian gospel in the daily life of the Church and the Christian community. Further to the Canon Laws, commentaries have been written on the Canon Laws in order to help us understand the nuances and implications of the Laws in even more specific situations.
From this perspective, we can now better appreciate the place of the Law in Christian life. What is condemned therefore is not the Law, that is, the broad principles governing righteous living and harmony. What is condemned is the slavish observation of the elaboration of the laws and forgetting the spirit behind such laws. In other words, when we are more concerned with the petty rules and customs than the spirit behind them, we fall into legalism. Some of these laws might no longer be applicable in our time because of changing situations. One good example is those who commit suicide. In those days, the Church was very strict in refusing a Christian burial to those who commit suicide. But because of the study of psychology and human behaviour, the Church has come to understand that in many cases, such people would have lost their reasoning and are forced into suicide because of the unbearable pain they suffer, and not because they deny that God is the author of life.
What is fundamental with respect to the law is to determine the spirit of the laws. All the commandments and laws, whether of the scriptures or even Church laws, are simply rooted in the principle of love of God and of neighbour and self. St Paul tells us that the only law is the law of love.
But what is love? St Augustine says, “Love and do what you like!” This is also what the relativists are saying. But they do not know what they are saying, unlike St Augustine. Love demands reverence for God and respect for our fellowmen. The Ten Commandments boil down to these principles of reverence and respect. They are concerned with justice and charity. It is not enough to say we love but our love must be directed primarily to the good of the person and to God. When love is a self-centred love, it is not love. So many people say “we do it out of love” but they need to examine their motives in what they do and consider whether what they do is truly the most loving thing for the person whom they claim to love.
Hence, Jesus warns us in the next verse, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20) Truly, we must go beyond performance and duties. Such attitudes must be corrected. Take the example of fasting. People are more concerned with the requirements of fasting than the spirit, whether it is half meal or full meal, etc. Another classic case is fulfilling the Sunday obligation. What does it mean to fulfil the Sunday obligation? When and how much work can we do on Sunday? When is the obligation of attending Sunday Mass considered to have been fulfilled? Which day and what time and how late, etc? Indeed, we are more obsessed with fulfilling the laws than the Spirit of the law. If we love God, then we do not ask such questions.
The truth is, when we are more concerned with fulfilling the laws, we can be calculative. We can become minimalists. Just like those who tell us that they never break the Ten Commandments. But the commandments only tell us what we cannot do but they do not tell us what we should do. So, it is not enough to just observe them but we need to be proactive and do good. But when it is based on the principle of love, there is no limit. None of us can ever say we have loved enough. Can anyone of us love like God? Can we give anything back to Him? “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:34-36) We can give everything we have and still we cannot give our entire being to anyone. We all have limitations in love. So, when we love, we keep on giving and giving till we die. To love God and our neighbour is a lifelong task that can never be completed on this earth.
Consequently, we still need the laws because they are the wisdom of God to guide us. This is what the first reading is telling us. Moses said to the people: “Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, ‘No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.’ And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?” Indeed, there is no separation between the law and love. The laws are principles to help us apply the law of love in specific instances in life. They are good and must not be despised.
Hence, today, we must recover the Spirit of the Laws, that is, the Law of love. By following the law of love for God and for others, we will find the fullness of life. This is the promise of Moses and that of Christ. “And now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own.” The laws are God’s wisdom and they protect us in love as they are guidelines to love. This is what the psalmist says. “He has strengthened the bars of your gates he has blessed the children within you. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees.”
Finally, there is a word of caution. Moses added, “But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and your children’s children.” In other words, the Law is the expression of the wisdom of God but we cannot believe in the Law unless we have seen His love for us. The Laws were given on account of God’s love for His Chosen People. He had demonstrated this love already in the Exodus. It is for this reason that He could command them to observe the Law, saying, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Dt 6:4-9)
Without a prior experience of God’s love for us and the examples of those who obeyed the Law and lived the fullness of life and those who did not and brought destruction upon themselves and their loved ones, we cannot find the capacity to observe the Law. That is why in the final analysis, Christians can fulfil the law and the spirit of the laws only because the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of love is given to us at our baptism. Until we receive the Holy Spirit, the New Principle of the New Covenant, we cannot observe the laws nor have the capacity to love like Jesus. For this reason, Lent is to prepare us for the paschal mystery whereby dying with Jesus to our sins and selfishness, we find life through and in His love for us in the Holy Spirit.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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