Love is Supreme Law

Boethius, a Roman senator and philosopher in the 6th century says, “…Love unto itself is a higher law.”

According to St. Augustine of Hippo, “Justice is necessary, but mercy is sweeter; without mercy, justice becomes cold and cruel.” Likewise, mercy and love have more weight than the law. The Scribes and Pharisees looked at things differently as they placed the letters of the law above the spirit of love. They followed Jesus and sought ways to criticise and destroy him. On a Sabbath day, they were watching to see him break the law so that they could accuse him of not keeping the Sabbath day holy. Jesus was aware of their evil intention, and so before he healed the withered man, he wisely asked them a question: “Is it lawful to do good or evil on the sabbath?” When they failed to answer the question, Jesus went ahead to heal the man, and by doing so he showed that love is the supreme law. Every law must be interpreted with merciful love and in the spirit of salvation. We can be good at keeping laws, but very poor at showing others mercy. We love to keep the laws of religion meticulously, but hardly invest the same strength in promoting love within the Christian family. Jesus teaches us that love is the supreme law. When we pray half-heartedly for the sake of keeping the law, our prayer becomes an empty exercise. How often do we emphasise the importance of the law without thinking of the need for mercy and compassion?

Mk 3:1-6; Wednesday, 2nd Week