Perfection of the Law

For the last couple of days, we have been reading from the Sermon on the Mount, also dubbed as the blueprint of the Christian life-style. The gospels were written that we may identify ourselves with Christ Jesus, Our Lord. And the Sermon on the Mount is one beautiful way of perpetuating the teachings of Jesus, imitating him and identifying ourselves with him. For Christianity is not a set of rules and prescriptions. It is about falling in love with a Person. You will never fall in love with a mere idea or doctrine. You can't be in love with mere laws, rules and regulations.

We need laws, but they only serve as scaffoldings, guidelines. But if we don't live beyond the law, we are perhaps merely observing the letter of the law—we become legalistic. For us Christians, Jesus is our Living Rule. By following him, we fulfill the law and the prophets. Along with Jesus, our role is not to break all the possible rules, but living them for their true purpose. The law does not become an end in itself. The Sabbath was made for humanity, and not the other way round.

Jesus’ teachings are not mere "prescriptions" for getting to heaven. Instead, they are a set of "descriptions" of a free life to live and proclaim the Kingdom here on earth. Our religion is not a mere bunch of do's and don'ts. It is not even a way of achieving an impossible perfection. If there is such a thing as human perfection, it seems to emerge precisely from how we handle the imperfection that is everywhere, especially our own. Real people are not perfect, and perfect people are not real. A "perfect" person ends up being one who can consciously forgive and include imperfection rather than presuming that he or she is above all imperfection. Perfection is a mathematical or divine concept, goodness is a beautiful human concept that includes us all.

Today (13th June) we also keep the memorial of St Anthony of Padua, the miracle worker. His perfection, that is, his creative goodness and faithfulness, came not from mere observance of the law, but from a charismatic obedience to God Himself. Here was a man of the Kingdom who proclaimed the gospel through his life, actions and words. His uncorrupted tongue, after many centuries after his death, proclaim the great instrumentality of this Portuguese Franciscan saint. May I be inspired by his gospel spirit today.