LAW BREAKER

LAW BREAKER

 

 

 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” – Matthew 5:17

 

One high school student arrived three minutes after the 7 a.m. bell and it was his seventh offense. The student begged the student council (SC) officer stationed at the campus gate not to report his tardiness. Under the school’s policy, each student was only allowed to be late six times per quarter. On the seventh tardiness, the school imposed a one-day suspension and a grade of 75 for conduct.

The SC officer knew the reason why. His classmate was attending to his sick grandfather. He was able to validate it when, one time, he visited his house. The officer was torn between compliance with the school’s policy and giving in to his classmate’s request. With eyes closed, he chose the latter. He felt bothered with what he did. A few days later, his classmate’s grandfather died.

Jesus also “broke the rules.” He dined with prostitutes, tax collectors and outcasts of society. He talked to a Samaritan woman in public. He healed a man with dropsy on a Sabbath. In breaking the rules, Jesus was able to fulfill the greatest law of all: Love.

How about you? Do you keep the law but break the greatest law of love? Judith Concepcion (svp_jmc@yahoo.com)

 

REFLECTION:

Am I legalistic in my compliance with any law, rule or policy?

 

Help me, Lord, to love like You do. May all my actions be motivated by love.

A New Breed of Pharisee? Reading or hearing Jesus’ words, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfil the Law,” raises the question: “So was Jesus, after all, a Pharisee?” The Gospels illustrate to us how the Pharisees defended the Law of Moses with great zeal. They were, in fact, the sect of lawyers. They interpreted the Law to others, and so they were addressed as “rabbis” or “teachers.” Some of them were ordained to educate the younger generations about the texts and the traditions of the Law, and these were called the “scribes.” However, the Pharisees were also known to vary in their interpretations, ramifications and rituals regarding the Law. During the time of Jesus, they were mostly coming from two schools — the school of Shimai who was said to be rigoristic and strict, and the school of Hillel who was more lax and subjective in his commentary of the Law. As regards Jesus, we note that His exhortations are not just about “executing” or “doing” (Greek verb = poieo) the Law in the manner that the Law has been taught and passed on from one generation of Jews to another. Jesus advocated “fulfillment” (Greek verb = pleroun). This means that Jesus was not just after a more exact and minute observance of the details of the Law. His aim was the perfection of the Law by restoring the Law to its true spirit and intention in accordance to God’s will. Jesus sustained that in the case of marriage and divorce, for example, the Law of Moses had admitted compromise with human weakness. Hence, there was the need for Jesus to reinterpret and renew the Law. Jesus was not just establishing a new branch of Pharisaic tradition. He was one who preached a radical and new fidelity to God’s will, above all human compromise. Jesus was a prophet.Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP   Reflection Question: In the face of varied and complicated human experiences and situations, do you tend to make compromises justified by legal distinctions and fine dissections of terms and language? Or do you simplify the issue to a choice of basic values? By heart, are you a “lawyer” or a “prophet”?   Thank You, Lord, for being a “prophet” and not a “lawyer.” Help me to be like You.   St. Anastasia the Patrician, pray for us.

Tags: religion, fiat, catholic, inspiration, bo sanchez, anric, boholst