Divine law and human law

SOMEHOW, when Christ said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not abolish but to fulfil,” (Mt 5,17) we are led to realize that there must be different categories and levels of law and that in the end, the ultimate distinction is between divine law and human law. 

 Divine law, of course, comes from a higher power, no less than God himself, and covers everything in our life since it focuses on the moral and spiritual dimensions of our life. Human law is made by men through a variety of agencies, and it mainly focuses on rules for social order, rights and governance. 

 This divine law has been embodied, revealed and commanded of us by Christ, the son of God who became man to redeem us and the very pattern of our humanity. As such, he rightly claims to be the fulfillment of all the laws we have. 

 We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc. 

 While these things have their legitimate role to play in our legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the one who establishes what is truly good and evil, what is right and wrong, what is fair and unfair. 

 In this regard, we have to learn to distinguish and properly blend both the letter and spirit of our human laws. That’s the ideal. In our earthly reality, of course, the letter of the law will always be found wanting in terms of capturing the whole spirit of the law which should channel the spirit of God. 

 This discrepancy between the letter and the spirit of the law has been referred to a number of times in the gospel. One example is when Christ told the Jews: "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mk 7,9) 

 We need to understand that our laws, both in the civil and especially in the ecclesiastical sphere, should be animated by the spirit of God who knows all things and keeps everything in its proper order. We should not just make our laws, interpret and apply them to specific cases by basing them only on our own estimation of things, inspired only by some cultural, historical, political, social, economic or some ideological ethos. 

 We need to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc. 

 For this, we have to learn how to assume the very identity of Christ. This may need a certain discipline, like spending time meditating on the life and teachings of Christ, developing the art of being recollected and contemplative so that we would always be aware that our thoughts, desires, words and deeds should always be with Christ and not just by our own selves.

Why is God so forgiving?

AND why should we, like God, be forgiving also? These questions can rise after reading that gospel episode where St. Peter asked Christ how many times should he forgive someone who has offended him. (cfr. Mt 18,21-35) St. Peter dared to suggest, 7 times, which already meant a lot. But Christ told him, not only seven times, but seventy times seven times, which practically means always. 

 The quick answer to these questions is that no matter how we are to God and to each other, we will always remain children of God and brothers and sisters to each other. As such, we are meant to love God and everybody else, irrespective of how we behave. And it is forgiveness which is the ultimate form of love. 

 If God, in Christ, loves us so much that he became man and went all the way to offer his life for us, and if we are children of God who are supposed to be like God, then we too should have a love for God and for one another that is boundless. 

 Christ’s boundless love for us is shown not only in the fact that he offered his life for us—and as St. John said, “Greater love has no than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15,13)—but he also offered forgiveness to those who crucified him. (cfr. Lk 23,34) 

 We should just learn how to be forgiving the way God in Christ is always forgiving us. And the reason is because by always forgiving, we liken ourselves with God, with Christ, who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. Forgiving is the ultimate act of love which is the very essence of God and which is also intended for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness. 

 Thus, we have to learn to be forgiving always of others, no matter how undeserving we feel they are of forgiveness. That’s how God forgave us. He took the initiative. He offered forgiveness and continues to do so if only to bring us back to him. 

 The awareness of this truth should also help us to develop the attitude to forgive one another as quickly as possible, since that is the only way we can learn to love. When we find it hard to forgive others, it is a clear sign that we are full of ourselves, are self-righteous, proud and vain. 

 We have to continually check on our attitude towards others because today’s dominant culture is filled precisely by the viruses of self-righteousness, that feeling that we are superior to others, etc. We have to do constant battle against that culture that undermines our duty to be always forgiving. 

 Obviously, to be always forgiving, we need to make a lot of sacrifice since we have to conquer our pride. Forgiveness is a real game-changer since with it we would be willing to let go of whatever hurt and anger we may have. It actually takes a huge weight off our shoulders. 

 Pride often stems from the feeling that we have been wronged or disrespected. But with forgiveness, we can manage to let go of that feeling, enabling us to be stronger than our ego. It’s not actually about letting someone off the hook. The guilty still has to face the consequences of his acts. But with forgiveness, we free ourselves from negative vibes. 

 With forgiveness, we can manage to be at peace with anyone even as we continue to sort out things to fix whatever problem or issue we may have at hand.

God is always merciful

CONSIDERING our proneness to sin, we should always remember that there is always hope because God’s mercy is ever available for us. While we should try our best to avoid sin, we know that we can only go so far. We should not anymore make a big issue about this fact of life. Let’s just accept it and align our reaction to it in accordance with God’s ways of dealing with our sinfulness. 

 In this regard, it is good to keep in mind a psalm that articulates this kind of attitude. It’s from Psalm 130, 7 which says: “Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” 

 Yes, with our sinfulness we need to remind ourselves that not everything is lost. On the contrary, such misfortune has also brought about a greater blessing from above. “O happy fault,” we sing in the Easter Vigil hymn of the Exsultet, and that is because our sinfulness has brought about a greater blessing from God. Due to our sin, God became man and gave us a way of how to handle the consequences of our sins. 

 In this regard, we can cite St. Paul’s words as being very relevant. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Rom 5,20) And we can also relish these beautiful words from the Book of Ezekiel: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Would I not prefer he turns from his ways and live?” (18,23) 

 Our sins and everything related to them should not separate us from God. If ever, they should make us all the more eager to go to God, always convinced that forgiveness will always be given as long as we have the proper disposition. God never tires in forgiving us. His love for us is much greater than the gravest offense we can make against him. 

 Let us always remember that it is definitely a sign of the devil’s wiles and lies when we feel that we should run away, ashamed and afraid, from God after falling into some sin. When we sin, the first thing to do is to go immediately to God to ask for forgiveness which will always be given. 

 Just the same, we have to realize the gravity of our sin and do something about our vulnerability to it. We have to learn how to avoid the occasion of sin, temptations and sin itself. We have to learn how to wage an abiding spiritual combat against the enemies of God and of our soul. 

 But we should try to avoid abusing the goodness and mercy of God. In this regard, we have to form our conscience well so that we would know how to protect and defend ourselves from sin and temptations, how to know and judge our moral acts properly, etc. 

 Sad to say, we can suspect that there are already quite a number of people and even large portions of societies all the over the world that seem to have lost the sense of sin. And as a consequence, many cases of depression and suicides are now reported. Temptations and sin can only give, at best, temporary and fake pleasures, but they wreck great havoc in the lives of people. 

 When we are asked to acknowledge our sins at the beginning of the Mass, let us review the whole drama of our sinfulness and also the assured mercy of God. That’s how we can be realistic about our life here on earth.