WE, of course, need
laws. Otherwise, our world would be in chaos. But we have to learn the
different kinds of laws and know the importance, coverage and effectiveness of
these laws.
Offhand, we can distinguish between divine law and human law, the
natural law, which more or less governs the material order of our life and the
world in general, and the moral law that looks into the spiritual and
supernatural dimensions of our human acts. There are, of course, many other
subsets of these general laws.
At the outset, what we have to be clear about is that our human
laws should try their best to reflect the spirit of the divine law which is the
source of all laws. This is where some tricky things will have to be dealt with
as best that we can.
That’s because the divine law would always contain some mysteries
that would be challenging for us to decipher in a precise way. Thus, we have to
be wary of considering our human laws as containing the final say or judgment
about everything. They can only go so far, and they are always in need of
regular updating, enrichment and the like.
To know, for example, the relationship between truth and charity,
justice and mercy would require not only the power of our rationality but also
the power of God’s grace, the power of faith. It requires nothing less than
pursuing in a vital way the goal of identifying ourselves with God in Christ
who, in the end, is the pattern of our humanity since we are God’s image and
likeness, sharers of his divine life and nature.
So, we have to be wary of the danger of being trapped by our
human laws. That’s when we consider these laws as the ultimate guide of our
life. When these human laws miss or even just loosen their necessary connection
with God, the ultimate lawgiver, there is no way but for them to fall into some
kind of legalism.
This danger was shown quite often during the time of Christ on
earth. He was often accused of violating the Sabbath law because he did some
miraculous cures on that Sabbath day when the law then specified that the
Sabbath day should strictly be a day of rest where no work, not even caring for
the sick, would be allowed.
That was what happened when Christ cured a paralytic who was
waiting for his turn to get into miraculous water of the pool of Bethesda.
(cfr. Jn 5,1-16) We may find that episode funny now, but it happened many times
before and similar cases continue to happen up to now.
We need to see to it that our legal system is always vitally
connected to the divine law, to an intimate relation with God in Christ who,
being the very personification of love, fulfills all law, just as St. Paul
said: “Love does not wrong to a neighbor; therefore love (Christ) is the
fulfilment of the law.” (Rom 13,10)
We have to be wary when we make, interpret and apply our laws
without this necessary spirit of Christ. When we would just depend on our human
estimation of things, we cannot help but fall into some anomalies,
inconsistencies and the like. We really need to acknowledge our need for God in
Christ in anything that has to do with our human laws.
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