Nation of Laws

Seeing all laws in light of the lex suprema, the salvation of souls

09/02/2018

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15 When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. —For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. — So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."

We are a nation of laws. But have you noticed how we pick and choose some laws to obey and some to bend or break? Some people self-righteously point fingers and condemn others for violating laws while failing to see their own felonious behavior. It is obvious to anyone driving with their eyes open that the speed limit on the highway is 70 miles per hour, the maximum speed allowed by law. But rarely is someone that scrupulous that they would drive that speed; they would be hit from behind. A yellow light at an intersection means slow down and prepare to stop, but for most people it means speed up. In Fort Smith, we speed up at red lights. A liturgical law of the Church states Catholics should not receive Communion if they are conscious of grave sin, like missing Mass on Sunday. But is every Catholic coming up for Communion have such a clean conscience? We are a nation of laws, but it might be more accurate to say we are a nation that only obeys those laws we cannot get away with breaking.

I had the opportunity to study canon law in Washington, D.C. many years ago, and I learned that the Church has 1,752 different canons or statutes and each one has subparagraphs. We are definitely a “church of laws”! I was so happy when I discovered that the last canon stated, “lex suprema salus animarum,” meaning “the highest law (the supreme law) is the salvation of souls.” In a sense all the preceding 1,751 canons should be seen in service to the final and fundamental canon, the salvation of souls. In other words, if a certain canon or law is not helping someone get into heaven it needs to be re-evaluated and revised so that it serves that end. We all pick and choose which laws to obey and which ones we will bend or break. The one law we should never break is the lex suprema, any law whose violation keeps people out of Paradise.

Jesus feels frustrated with the Pharisees in the gospel today because they cannot figure out which law is the lex suprema; they think they all are. The Pharisees prided themselves on being a class of Jews that never broke any laws, not even the smallest letter of a law. They would drive 70 miles per hour on the highway, they would slow down at yellow lights, and they would never miss Mass. But that zeal to keep every jot and tittle of the law blinded them to the supreme the law, namely, getting people into heaven. Jesus reprimands them saying: “You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” God’s commandments express his Fatherly wisdom and love, which is ultimately to see all his children safely back home in heaven. If a specific statute, canon or commandment fails to serve that end, it needs to be ejected. Lex suprema, salus animarum. The Pharisees had forgotten the law is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

May I suggest three instances we might shine the light of the lex suprema, so that the small laws do not blind us to the big laws? First of all let’s look at immigration laws and people who enter the United States illegally, or stay beyond their allotted time. There are passionate people on both sides of the aisle - I know because I talk to them and they yell at me. But I suggest we ask ourselves: Is breaking an immigration law going to keep you out of heaven, or is it just going to get you deported and keep you out of the United States? The answer is: breaking an immigration law will not keep you out of heaven. Whatever side you take on the immigration issue – and there are reasonable people on both sides – shine the light of the lex suprema on those laws and you will see the issue more clearly as a Christian. You begin to realize the law is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

Secondly, we shine the light of the lex suprema on the clergy sexual abuse crisis. One aspect of what makes this scandal so senseless is that priests who knew they were breaking the law, both civil and moral laws, thought they could get away with it. And tragically, they did get away with it for a long time. But if shine the light of the lex suprema, we ask: will violation of this law keep those priests out of heaven, what answer do we get? A resounding “YES!” unless, of course, they sincerely repent. The reason clergy sexual abuse is so reprehensible is that it violates the lex suprema and keeps people out of Paradise, namely, the priests themselves. Clergy who abused minors saw the law as an end in itself, and thought they could break it with impunity, but the consequences could be eternal.

Thirdly, let us turn the light of the lex suprema on ourselves. How often do we commit sins, breaking one of the Ten Commandments, believing we get away with it, like lying. By the way, doctors are taught in medical school that patients routinely lie on their in-take form. Doctors are instructed on how to compensate for their concealment. To the question how much do you drink a week, the doctors should take the answer and double it. To the question how frequently do you have sex, the doctor should take that answer and reduce it by half. But the bigger law is that lying is prohibited by the eighth commandment, “Thou shall not bear false witness.” Not telling the truth breaks the lex suprema and could keep us out of heaven. When we lie we think the law is an end in itself and ignore that it is a means to our eternal end.

The United States and the Catholic Church are organizations of laws. And that is a good thing, and an important ingredient in our success as a nation and as a church. But let us be careful that the little laws do not blind us to the big laws, the salvation of souls. The lex suprema reminds us to treat laws as a means to an end, not an end in themselves. 

Praised be Jesus Christ!