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Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Jesus, in Matthew 5:17, ESV).
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Apostle John, in John 1:17).
Life is rarely a straight line. If there’s anything I’ve learned from writing about life’s Interruptions over the years, it’s that the unexpected moments — the disruptions to our carefully laid plans — are where we learn to follow Jesus.
Lately, there’s been a lot of heated discussion in our community and across the country about our Haitian neighbors who are here on Temporary Protected Status (TPS). I’ve listened to the debates, and I’ve heard this familiar refrain many times…
The law is the law!
On the surface, the phrase sounds concrete, a solid pavement of reason, a double yellow line down the middle of the highway. But pausing to consider Scripture, I sense something hollow about a simple “the law is the law” mindset. Jesus didn’t come to enforce the intricacies of the law as it was known in His time, but to fulfill the law’s ultimate intention through grace.
When Jesus was asked to quote the greatest commandment, He replied…
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28-31).
If we are completely honest with ourselves, none of us operates under a “zero-tolerance” legalism standard.
Have we ever driven 65 in a 55 zone? Have we ever clicked “I agree” on a software contract we didn’t read? When we make a mistake or get caught bending a rule for our own convenience, we expect grace. We expect the officer to give us a warning. We expect a second chance. We instinctively know that laws are meant to serve us and not be a blunt instrument devoid of mercy.
In the Gospels, the most vocal Israelites quoting “the law is the law” were the Pharisees, who entirely missed the heart of the matter, being too busy measuring straight lines to notice Jesus straddling the law and pointing in a different direction — a narrower path of mercy, grace, and treating others as we want to be treated.
Considering the Haitians of our community and all the accusations made against them by those straddling a narrow line, admittedly, I have the colored lens of a pastor who has worked in my community for over 50 years, with more experience than most in dealing with broken lines in the lives of people. And while never negating the laws of justice, purity, and decency, I also point them toward the different law of God’s grace.
My concern in this Interruption: when we say “the law is the law” — have we broken laws ourselves, did we receive mercy, and does our “law is the law” approach to the Haitians reflect God’s mercy that we received?
Just asking the question.