One of the things which Malaysians pride themselves in is being able to get around bureaucracy and inconvenient laws. From evading taxes, beating traffic red lights to double parking along roads, Malaysians are adept at finding loopholes to beat the system. The Italians have a word for it - “furbizia.” I’ve come up with my own phrase that best describes it: “there is no law till you’re caught.”
Unfortunately, many Christians also believe likewise in terms of Church laws. Three myths seem to justify either outright disobedience or mere flexibility in the application of the law.
First, these laws are just arbitrary laws, they have no basis in reason nor are they practical.
Second, these laws are primarily external and imposed by human authority.
Finally, these laws would keep us from doing what would make us happy. People who obey laws are rigid, dowdy and wet blankets.
But today’s readings provide us with a contrarian view. From the first reading to the gospel, we can discern a consistent thread that reminds us that obedience to the Law brings with it true wisdom, greater freedom and happiness.
In the first reading, taken from a piece of Wisdom literature, Ecclesiasticus, the author starts off by asserting that God does not compel us to keep His commandments but rather affords us true freedom to choose: “If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power.” But does this mean that He does not have His own preference or He has left us to our own designs? The answer comes at the end of the passage where we are told in no uncertain terms: “He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.” This is reflected in the teachings encapsulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything” (CCC 1740) but it is “the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good” (1744). In other words, the more we align ourselves to the will of God, which is saying that the more we faithfully obey God’s commandments, we will achieve greater freedom.
Next, the psalmist makes an audacious claim by asserting that “they are happy who follow God’s laws.” If we try, we can imagine the logic behind following God’s laws but to claim that we derive happiness therefrom may seem even more outrageous. But understanding that this statement is a beatitude helps us understand how something which is generally considered burdensome (at least in modern eyes) can be considered a reason for joy, for aren’t all the beatitudes which we heard our Lord preach during the Sermon on the Mount equally perplexing as they spell out a list of otherwise unhappy scenarios as reasons for being happy. But if we understand the wisdom of obeying God’s laws, we would also come to understand the reason why the man who obeys is happy. This is because by aligning ourselves to God’s will, we will be liberated instead of shackled. For this reason, the person who lives a moral life in obedience to the law of Christ is ultimately happier. This is clear when you consider the person who has completely given themselves to virtue and the person who has completely given themselves to vice. The former is aflame with love; the latter is mired in addiction and darkness.
If you believe that the Psalmist and the author of Ecclesiasticus both have a certain Old Testament bias towards the law, a bias which was overturned by the radical nature of our Lord’s teaching, you need to read and reread the gospel. In our Lord Jesus’ own words: “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.” I believe that there is no need to extrapolate on this. Slam dunk!
If Jesus is considered radical in His treatment of the Law, it was not to lower its standard or blunt its edginess. On the contrary, His radical treatment of the Law was to raise the standard. If the world says, “Why do more when you can do less?”, our Lord retorts in a non-exhaustive series of examples: “why do less when you can do so much more?” Our Lord is challenging us not to just fulfil the bare minimum or to find loopholes in the Law or to do it out of obligation. He challenges each of us to do it out of love of God and neighbour. When something is done out of love, it is done with freedom and not as a burden. The only compulsion comes from wanting to love more and not because we are forced to do so out of fear of some threat of punishment.
So, contrary to the three myths concerning the Law and obedience to it, we should now view observance of the Law in this fashion:
First, moral laws are arbitrary, they are rooted in human nature. The more obedient we are to God’s laws, the more human we become.
Second, these laws are internal. We were not just “born this way”. We were made like this – to know God, to love Him, to serve Him and be with Him in paradise forever. The Author of the universe is showing you a road-map to happiness and Heaven, and a map of your own soul.
Lastly, living the moral life by obeying God’s laws is the key to happiness. That is why sainthood is also described as divine beatitude, divine happiness. Holiness is the epitome of happiness. You will not find a sad saint in heaven. On the other hand, the denizens in hell are the saddest creatures to have ever exist. But their sorrow is of their choosing.
So, the next time you think of circumventing the law by justifying it with some flimsy excuse or another, think twice. There is a Law, a law that stands behind all just laws, and don’t make the mistake of pretending that it doesn’t exist until you are caught. The Law of Love demands more of us, not less. It demands our best and our greatest! And if you have not been on board in obeying His commands, let this be the reason for us to change course, to undergo metanoia (repentance), so that we may submit to the will of the One who alone can give us true freedom and eternal happiness.
Second, these laws are primarily external and imposed by human authority.
Finally, these laws would keep us from doing what would make us happy. People who obey laws are rigid, dowdy and wet blankets.
But today’s readings provide us with a contrarian view. From the first reading to the gospel, we can discern a consistent thread that reminds us that obedience to the Law brings with it true wisdom, greater freedom and happiness.
In the first reading, taken from a piece of Wisdom literature, Ecclesiasticus, the author starts off by asserting that God does not compel us to keep His commandments but rather affords us true freedom to choose: “If you wish, you can keep the commandments, to behave faithfully is within your power.” But does this mean that He does not have His own preference or He has left us to our own designs? The answer comes at the end of the passage where we are told in no uncertain terms: “He never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.” This is reflected in the teachings encapsulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything” (CCC 1740) but it is “the power to act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good” (1744). In other words, the more we align ourselves to the will of God, which is saying that the more we faithfully obey God’s commandments, we will achieve greater freedom.
Next, the psalmist makes an audacious claim by asserting that “they are happy who follow God’s laws.” If we try, we can imagine the logic behind following God’s laws but to claim that we derive happiness therefrom may seem even more outrageous. But understanding that this statement is a beatitude helps us understand how something which is generally considered burdensome (at least in modern eyes) can be considered a reason for joy, for aren’t all the beatitudes which we heard our Lord preach during the Sermon on the Mount equally perplexing as they spell out a list of otherwise unhappy scenarios as reasons for being happy. But if we understand the wisdom of obeying God’s laws, we would also come to understand the reason why the man who obeys is happy. This is because by aligning ourselves to God’s will, we will be liberated instead of shackled. For this reason, the person who lives a moral life in obedience to the law of Christ is ultimately happier. This is clear when you consider the person who has completely given themselves to virtue and the person who has completely given themselves to vice. The former is aflame with love; the latter is mired in addiction and darkness.
If you believe that the Psalmist and the author of Ecclesiasticus both have a certain Old Testament bias towards the law, a bias which was overturned by the radical nature of our Lord’s teaching, you need to read and reread the gospel. In our Lord Jesus’ own words: “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.” I believe that there is no need to extrapolate on this. Slam dunk!
If Jesus is considered radical in His treatment of the Law, it was not to lower its standard or blunt its edginess. On the contrary, His radical treatment of the Law was to raise the standard. If the world says, “Why do more when you can do less?”, our Lord retorts in a non-exhaustive series of examples: “why do less when you can do so much more?” Our Lord is challenging us not to just fulfil the bare minimum or to find loopholes in the Law or to do it out of obligation. He challenges each of us to do it out of love of God and neighbour. When something is done out of love, it is done with freedom and not as a burden. The only compulsion comes from wanting to love more and not because we are forced to do so out of fear of some threat of punishment.
So, contrary to the three myths concerning the Law and obedience to it, we should now view observance of the Law in this fashion:
First, moral laws are arbitrary, they are rooted in human nature. The more obedient we are to God’s laws, the more human we become.
Second, these laws are internal. We were not just “born this way”. We were made like this – to know God, to love Him, to serve Him and be with Him in paradise forever. The Author of the universe is showing you a road-map to happiness and Heaven, and a map of your own soul.
Lastly, living the moral life by obeying God’s laws is the key to happiness. That is why sainthood is also described as divine beatitude, divine happiness. Holiness is the epitome of happiness. You will not find a sad saint in heaven. On the other hand, the denizens in hell are the saddest creatures to have ever exist. But their sorrow is of their choosing.
So, the next time you think of circumventing the law by justifying it with some flimsy excuse or another, think twice. There is a Law, a law that stands behind all just laws, and don’t make the mistake of pretending that it doesn’t exist until you are caught. The Law of Love demands more of us, not less. It demands our best and our greatest! And if you have not been on board in obeying His commands, let this be the reason for us to change course, to undergo metanoia (repentance), so that we may submit to the will of the One who alone can give us true freedom and eternal happiness.
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