Step #23-Law or Common Sense

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘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

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent (March 18, 2009)

As we meditate on the scriptures of the New Testament, we can easily think that Jesus did not have any respect for the laws. He went against most of the laws that the Pharisees emphasized so much. He did not respect the Sabbath when He encountered someone in need, therefore the Pharisees accused Him of working on the Sabbath. He forgave the sinners and told the Pharisees, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone,” John 8:7, even though the law of Moses said that “women caught in the very act of committing adultery should be stoned.” John 8:4-5

Today, Jesus clarifies it for us. He does not want us to ignore the laws, He just wants us to use common sense when we observe the laws. The Church says that we must go to mass every Sunday and holy days of obligation, however, if my child is sick and I don’t go to mass, will Jesus get upset? I certainly think He would be more upset if I leave my sick child in order to go to mass.

When I was a teenager one of my friends would stop at red lights and if no one was coming, He would just take them. He claimed the red lights were there to avoid accidents, but if no cars were coming in the opposite direction, what was the point of waiting? Today, not surprising, he’s an attorney. The problem with his rationality is the chaos that would be formed if everyone did that. On the other hand, when I was pregnant with my second child, three weeks before my due date I went into labor and without warning, the contractions began less than three minutes apart. Rafael drove to the hospital at 2 o’clock in the morning slowing down for the red lights but taking every single one of them. Both did exactly the same thing, the difference was in the motive.

Jesus does not want us to break the laws, but we need to use common sense into knowing when is better to break a law if it means breaking it may save someone’s life, while sticking to the book like the Pharisees did, will cause us to become heartless towards the needs of those around us. Of course, we also have to keep in mind what law we are breaking and how will that help the person we are breaking it for. Last week, one of my clients who is undergoing financial difficulties, told me “use your magic touch so that I can get the highest possible refund.” My answer was, “I don’t have a magic wand, I have to abide by the law.” Cheating on a tax return to get more money is like “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” I know many persons that think that cheating the IRS is not really cheating because the IRS has enough money. I am sorry to say that cheating the IRS is the same as robbing a neighbor. How will I help a client by cheating if later on he may get audited, have to repay the money plus penalty and risk going to jail?

As we continue on our journey, let’s think about those times we had to break a law to help someone in need. What was our real motive for doing this? If we did it out of love and did not hurt someone else in the process, Jesus looked the other way. However, if we had an ulterior motive, or if we are so adamant to stick to the book and we don’t care who we hurt in the process, maybe we need to have a serious talk with Jesus or our blessed Mother, asking them to guide us to do the right thing.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent (March 7, 2018)

Last week, on Friday, I completely forgot that I could not eat meat because it was Lent. I had a chicken Caesar salad for lunch, but right before I ate it, I remembered that we were in Lent. I had a decision to make. Did I throw away the chicken or did I eat it? Everyone in my office agreed that it was better that I ate it instead of throwing it away. I had to agree with them, and I think that in this particular case, Jesus would not have wanted me to stick to the law. Throwing away the chicken when there are so many people without food was not the proper thing to do. So I ate the chicken. Common sense won. Of course, the ideal thing would have been for me to give the chicken to someone in need. But I just did not have that option that day because I could not leave my office.

Following the rules, of both the church and the world, is important, but many times, we need to use our common sense. On the same Friday, at night, we went out to eat. We followed the rules. We did not order meat. Instead, we ordered a delicious seafood pasta with shrimp and lobster. It’s good to be a Catholic during Lent, especially if you like seafood. But common sense tells me that’s not what Lent is supposed to be.