The Law Behind the Law

The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

From the time that we’re kids, we are taught that we’ve got to follow the rules. I remember my parents’ strict law that there was to be no fighting in the back seat! Then in school, we couldn’t chew gum… or run in the hallways… or dare to wear regular street shoes on the shiny gym floor. As adults, we’ve got plenty of other rules that must be followed: pay your taxes… wear your seatbelt… don’t hold your beer in one hand and try to steer the car with the other… don’t smoke in public buildings…

I guess God has always had rules for us, too. I think we all want to be good people and be pleasing to the Lord because we want his blessings and we want to make it to heaven!

In our first reading today from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people how important it is to listen to God and [quote] “keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law.” When he says “this book,” he’s referring to the Torah—the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

When Jesus preached his famous Sermon on the Mount, he taught the people (Mt 5: 17-18): “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.”

So it sounds like all those laws and rules taught by Moses and all the other prophets are still binding and must be obeyed—because Jesus added in his Sermon on the Mount that “[A]nyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments . . . will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5: 19).

Now, in reading through some of these venerable biblical laws, I have some questions. See what you think.

Leviticus 25: 44 says that we can own slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. I wonder if anyone can clarify this.

Leviticus 1: 9 instructs me, as a priest, to burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice. I know that this creates a pleasing odor for the Lord, but the problem is my neighbors. The folks up and down Main Street, and even onto Busey Street, claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I also have several neighbors, especially farmers, who insist on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35: 2 clearly states that they should be put to death. I wonder if I am morally obligated to kill them myself, or should I ask the sheriff to do it?

And oh, speaking of farmers… I’ve been told that some of the farmers around here are breaking the law of Leviticus 19: 19 by planting two different crops—corn and beans—in the same field. And so are their wives and kids by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread, like cotton and polyester. Well, the penalty is pretty clear. I wonder if it’s really necessary to go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them, as Leviticus 24: 10-16 requires. Don’t you think we could just burn them to death in a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws, Leviticus 20: 14, or with men who sleep with men, Leviticus 20: 13?

And oh yes, the law is clear in Leviticus 11: 6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes a person unclean. Do you think I should contact the coaches and tell them that their teams can play football only if they wear gloves?

We all know that these ancient laws don’t bind us any longer. The same goes for so many others—the old Jewish dietary laws… the prohibition against women speaking in church or teaching children or not covering their heads… rules against cutting your hair… laws requiring you to marry your sister-in-law if your brother dies… and many, many more. We know well that the Church wouldn’t lead us to break Jesus’ clear command to follow the law! So what’s the deal here?

Jesus tells us in the gospel today that the law… God’s supreme law… is the law of love: You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. That is what “the Law and the Prophets” is all about. That is what is uppermost in God’s mind. The law is not so much about particular behaviors or actions or omissions as it is about attitudes and empathy and mercy. All of the ancient laws were based on people not getting hurt. In other words, they were based on love.

It wasn’t healthy to eat pork or handle hog carcasses in a desert land with no refrigeration or standards of cleanliness. Slavery was common, but think of how cruel it would be if you owned your daughter’s best friends’ father! Sleeping with your wife’s mother, or your wife’s good-looking brother, could create all kind of awful jealousy in the small community—and if a famine or disaster came, it would be important to all stick together. Even something as innocuous-sounding as not mixing fabrics in a garment was based on love—so your clothes wouldn’t fall apart and you’d have no protection against the elements.

So the lesson today is another important reminder of what really is the most essential rule in God’s mind and heart—and that is the law of love. As the gospel story of the Good Samaritan illustrates, the law of love asks us to look around and think so we can see when another fellow human being is in need. Love asks us to jump in and help, even if it’s inconvenient or it might cost us. Love asks us to follow through, even if we’re tired of the whole thing. And love asks us to do it all with a peaceful, humble and generous spirit.

May we not be little Pharisees who are more concerned with insignificant trifles or with following some ancient statute to the letter than we are with God’s precious children. Jesus broke a lot of the biblical rules of his day to put people first and to love them genuinely, because he understood the law behind the law. Like him—our model and our Master—may we, too, love from the depths of our heart. Amen.