Mind the Spirit of the Law Not Just the Letter of the Law

Gospel, Week 4, Lent

John 9: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

This Sunday's Gospel sets forth a contrast between the faith of the man born blind and the unbelief of the Pharisees.  In the beginning of the chapter, Jesus refers to himself as the "light of the world", and this light had shot through the heart of the man born blind; whereas, it was rejected by the Pharisees.  As such, they remained in the darkness of unbelief.

A key reason for the Pharisees unbelief was that they put more emphasis on the letter of the law and their interpretation of it rather than the spirit of the law, which is love for God and neighbor.  This is most evident in their understanding of the Sabbath.  They were far more concerned about what constituted and did not constitute work (i.e., letter of the law) than they were about the fact that God created the Sabbath so that he and people might reconnect in love (i.e., the spirit of the law).  Their obsession with the letter of the law regarding the Sabbath led them to conclude that Jesus broke it; and thus, was not from God.  Jesus may have broken the Pharisees' rigid interpretation of the Sabbath; but he never broke the Sabbath as God intended it, which was to do good to others.

We can make a similar mistake as the Pharisees made.  We can become so focused on the moral teachings of the Church that, somehow, we lose the love of which those moral teachings are an expression.  And once we lose love, we become self-righteous and quick to condemn others, just like the Pharisees.

Let me give an example.  A girl comes to her sister (who is Catholic) and tells her she is gay and is moving in with her girlfriend.  If the sister is a Catholic whose main focus is the letter of the law, then she will get angry, condemn her sister, and turn her back on her.  Love for the sister will be completely absent.  However, if the sister is a Catholic whose main focus is the spirit of the law, then she will agree to disagree and not turn her back on her sister.  The Catholic will not justify her sister's lifestyle because the law says it is sinful, but she will also not turn her back on her sister because that is not a loving thing to do.

May our Lord give us the grace and wisdom, not only to mind the letter of the law, but also not to neglect the love the law commands.