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FULFILLING THE LAWS OF GOD EVEN WHEN WE BREAK THEM - stephenkhoo - 03-14-2012 11:07 AM
Scripture Reflections
Wednesday, 14 March, 2012, 3rd Week of Lent
FULFILLING THE LAWS OF GOD EVEN WHEN WE BREAK THEM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: DT 4:1, 5-9; MT 5:17-19
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them.” This is a significant statement from Jesus. What prompted Jesus to say this could have been the fact that Jesus Himself, or at least His disciples, were regularly breaking the Sabbath and ritual laws. In other words, for fear of misunderstanding, Jesus reiterated the need to follow the laws of God. Otherwise, some of us too, might think that we no longer need the laws in our spiritual life but merely let the Holy Spirit work in us. Conversion is of course the work of the Holy Spirit, but as human beings, we need the laws to guide us lest we allow our ignorance and passion to overtake us. It is therefore important during the season of Lent, especially in the context of the spiritual exercises we do, to see the place and important of such observances.
But we have a conundrum here. Jesus’ statement that “whoever breaks the least significant of these commands and teaches others to do so shall be called least in the kingdom of God. Whoever fulfills and teaches these commands shall be great in the kingdom of God” seems to contradict the attitude of Jesus towards the Law. How could Jesus prohibit us from breaking even the least of the laws while He Himself broke the most serious of all laws, the Sabbath law? How then could He be said to have come to fulfill the laws? What He said and taught do not seem to square with His person. Consequently, we must penetrate deeper into the meaning of ‘fulfilling the laws’.
Firstly, one thing is certain, if Jesus’ words are to be understood as coherent, the meaning cannot be found on the level of a legalistic fulfillment of the laws. In other words, one can break the laws on the legal level and yet fulfill the laws of God, whereas another can keep the laws and yet not fulfill the laws of God. In order to comprehend this statement, we need to understand the purpose of the laws. According to the first reading, the laws of God are but the expression of the wisdom of God. “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.’” The laws are meant to be guidelines by which we can live our lives harmoniously with our fellow human beings and with the whole of creation. That is why, by observing them, we can find life and experience the closeness of God. The laws then were the practical rules of wisdom in living the life of the covenant. God gave them because He knew that His people were weak and easily led astray by their hearts. Hence, Moses said, “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.”
The mistake of the Pharisees was that they applied the laws without understanding and without wisdom. The laws became the ends in themselves. They did not see the purpose or the intention behind the laws. All that mattered to them was the legal fulfillment of the laws. In the end, they fell into both superstition and self-reliance. The implication was that by obeying the laws to the letter, God became obligated to His promise and bound to give them what they asked. By simply obeying the letter of the laws without understanding and without love, the laws become an enemy of man. Many of us are obeying the laws, whether of the scriptures or the Church, with reluctance and even with deep resentment because we feel that the laws delimit our freedom, take away our happiness and joy in life. So if we follow the laws only in the letter but not in the true spirit that it was given, we are not truly obeying the laws.
Hence, Jesus asked us to go beyond this level of understanding. Note that Jesus did not simply ask us to obey the laws but to fulfill the laws. Obedience to the laws alone does not imply fulfilling the laws. The fulfillment of the laws entails also living up to the intention of the legislator. And so when Jesus asked us to fulfill the laws, He meant that we must ensure that in whatever we do, obedience to the laws must lead us to a real love of God, neighbour and self.
When we see Jesus’ command in this manner, then we can make sense of what Jesus taught and the way He acted. Consequently, sometimes it is necessary to break the laws in order to fulfill the law – that is the law of life and love. Essentially, therefore, we are called to transcend the laws. To transcend the laws is to obey the laws without feeling repulsive towards it. To transcend the laws is to do beyond what the laws require, by going to the heart of the matter. To transcend the laws means to understand the laws as the loving expression of the Father’s wisdom and will. In that sense, Jesus had transcended the laws, because He obeyed the Father and accepted His loving will unto death, death on the cross. In dying to His will and in dying to death, Jesus transcended the laws to the limit. Whenever we do God’s will we, too, will also transcend the laws.
Consequently, the invitation to break the laws is only meant for those who have transcended the laws like Jesus. However, if we have not yet transcended the laws, then perhaps we will first have to fulfill the laws perfectly first, to the letter, as Jesus tells us. Only when we can fulfill the laws, can we speak of transcending the laws. Such an understanding will prevent us from falling into laxity and justifying ourselves whenever we find it convenient to break the laws for selfish reasons.
This is especially true, for example, with regard to the question of fasting and abstinence. Before we break these human laws, we must see whether we ourselves have really practised detachment from other areas of life as well. Can we be free enough even not to be free? If we cannot give up such small things like not eating meat on Friday, how can we give up greater things like those sins that cling to us so easily, pride, anger, lust, gluttony, sloth and avarice? Indeed, abstinence from meat is perhaps the least we could do to fulfil the penitential spirit of sharing in Christ’s suffering on the cross. If we are still not free to be unfree, then we must begin, like all novices, by first fulfilling the laws, as Jesus tells us in the gospel. In this way, we can understand why Jesus tells us that “whoever breaks the least significant of these commands and teaches others to do so shall be called least in the kingdom of God … whoever fulfills and teaches these commands shall be great in the kingdom of God.”
In the final analysis, the way to fulfil the laws, whether in letter or in spirit, all boils down to love. If we see the commandments as the expression of God’s wisdom and love for us, then obeying the laws would not be so much a challenge. This explains why Moses concluded with these words, “But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things you 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.” The Laws, strictly speaking, could only be obeyed if, like the Israelites, we remember the mercy and love of God when He with His mighty arm set the Hebrews free from their master, providentially took care of them in the desert and finally gave them the Promised Land. So if we know that God gave us the Laws even if we do not always understand them, we can obey them lovingly because we know that they are given to us out of the love and wisdom of God. Indeed, we too exclaim, “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?”
Written by Rev. Fr. William Goh
Spiritual Director, Catholic Spirituality Centre (CSC)
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