SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A

LAWS OF GOD, LAWS OF LOVE

Since our new barangay (village) captain took office, law and order was restored to the community.  The place is much cleaner and safer than before.  Drug users and pushers are now scared to hiding. Youth have stopped nighttime irregular activities.  Now I know why our captain won the elections by landslide.  He is a man serious on implementing laws.

Some people do not understand the value of the law. They argue that the law is oppressive, that it limits freedom, that it violates conscience.  Of course, there can be unjust laws which we must resist, but in general, laws are made and enacted so that there can be proper order in society. Laws are for the benefit of everyone, but specially those who are helpless without its protection.

This is all the more true for the law of God. God had the welfare of his people when he ordained laws; when he made people realize what was in conformity to his will and what was contrary to it.  This is why the Lord Jesus in today’s gospel declares that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Mt. 5:17). The laws of God allow us to grow in our familiarity, relationship and friendship with the Lord.

But in our lives we sense some resistance to the laws of God.  Not only do we break God’s laws, but many times we are mindless of our actions. If only we realize that at the core of every law of God is love, then our observance of the law will not be an imposition from outside but a response of the heart. God loves us that he wants to guide us to the truth, to freedom, to peace and to progress in love.

Jesus knew that there was a danger in merely following the law. Since we can follow the laws of God out of fear or obligation, as a mere custom and practice.  How does he intend to bring it then to fulfillment? Jesus invites us not to break the law but to go beyond the law.  And here, love is again the measure that we must use.

We must not only avoid killing a human being.  We must even check our anger from where flow hatred and spite.  We must not only avoid maligning another’s good name.  We must even strive to make peace.  We must not only avoid infidelity to our loved ones.  We must even to be respectful of others and careful not to use them for our selfish ends.

Obeying the law is already a struggle. But going beyond the law is really a great challenge.  However, the Lord gives us the spirit of love so that with divine love in our hearts, we can truly value and respect God’s will and respond enthusiastically to it.

Are there moments that you find yourself offending the Lord by breaking his laws?  Check your heart for the presence of love. Ask the Lord to give you the grace to love sincerely and intensely so that you will have a new understanding of his laws and to follow them with joy and peace.