By Fr. Roy Cimagala
THAT’S what we can conclude if we are to follow what Christ himself said: “Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.” (Mt 5,17-18)
While it’s true that we make and follow laws for the immediate purpose of keeping some peace and order in our society, or for the purpose of practicality, efficiency, etc., we should always keep in mind that all our laws should lead us to Christ always and especially in the end.
But given the fact that the letter of the law cannot fully capture the spirit that it should have, we should realize that our laws need to have that dynamic process of refining, polishing and enriching. They should never be considered as static, or irreformable, unenrichable.
A lot of discernment is needed here. Prudence requires it. And the common good, which in the end is God and which the law should always serve, can often present competing interests that need to be resolved as fairly as possible.
That’s simply because charity, truth, justice and mercy, which our laws should embody, have aspects that can be mysterious and that will always demand new requirements from us.
Let’s hope that the proper structures are made available to address this ongoing need with respect to continually polishing our laws. This is part of the political life and legal system of any nation. Let’s hope that a continuing study and research be made in this regard. Our law schools and other legal centers could be tapped for this purpose.
Our human laws should be understood simply as guides and means toward our ultimate end who is God. They can have varying degrees of importance and indispensability. Some are quite important and indispensable. But they are not the end itself for us.
We have to be clear regarding the role of God in Christ in making and following our human laws. When we dare to tamper on the law of God to give way to what we may consider as appropriate in our human laws, we should be ready to face the inevitable comeuppance.
When, for example, God’s moral law for us is contradicted in our laws regarding sexuality, population, freedom, etc., we should not be surprised when we experience a rise in licentiousness, teenage pregnancy, a population level that is below replacement rate, rise in mental illness, etc. All forms of avoidable injustice can take place.
Obviously, given our wounded human condition here on earth, neither should we be surprised when our God-inspired human laws would involve a certain degree of sacrifice. We should not be too idealistic as to expect that our human laws can resolve all our problems and issues. We have to learn to live with that fact of life.
Our God-inspired laws should have charity as their abiding effect. But, again, if we are to understand charity as the one shown and commanded to us by Christ, we should expect sacrifice to be an integral part.
Let us hope that the making and the following of our laws can avoid certain political maneuverings and other factors—cultural, social, etc.—that can compromise the spirit that is proper to our laws. Rather, we should get the sensation that through our laws, we are getting closer to Christ.
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