Matthew 22

I have read this passage of Matthew’s gospel many times but didn't’ pay much attention to the first sentence, verse 34 of chapter 22 until I read a commentary of St Cyril of Alexandria of the 5th century. This intro sentence reports who asked the question about the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses. And it also describes the background of how this question came up. It was a lawyer and Pharisee who cast this question to Jesus. And it was soon after Jesus silenced the Sadducees about the question of resurrection. St Cyril explains why the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask a question. They were filled with envy because Jesus defeated the Sadducees on the issue of resurrection while they could not win an argument against them over the same issue. Filled with envy, they came and laid a trap to put him down so that they could feel superior. The Pharisees were experts in the Law of Moses and the Jewish religious customs. They studied the 613 commandments meticulously and practised the details of the customs precisely. Then, what does it mean for them to ask Jesus, not a Pharisee or lawyer, about the greatest commandment among all? If Jesus had picked up any one of them as the greatest, they could’ve successfully made an argument, proving Jesus was ignorant of the Law.

What was the answer? Jesus chose none of the commandments. Instead, he replies with a summary or the spirit of the Law of Moses. The essence of the Law of Moses is love. This answer is remarkable. Love is much more than religious devotion or ritual devoutness, with which the Pharisees were obsessed. This love Jesus commands goes beyond the boundary of an established religion or an ethnic society. As a new paradigm and a fundamental commandment, love encompasses God and the human race. Upon this new vision and commandment was Christianity built. But this new law was not only for Christians but for all humanity. Jesus liberated the Jews from the yoke of the Law of Moses and gathered the Gentiles into his flock. By love, Christ offered liberation and salvation as well.

Unfortunately, our times once again head into the age of law. Of course, it is not the Law of Moses. It is secular law. We are living in a time law dictates. This past week, Canadian Catholic bishops issued a statement warning against the re-tabling of Bill C-7. This bill already made euthanasia a legal right, wrapping it with a soothing title, medical assistance in dying (MAID). Now, during this pandemic, the Canadian legislature wants to remove some safeguards for the decision-making process of doctor-assisted suicide so that euthanasia is more readily available in Canada. Is the government following the spirit of love here in any sense? Is it promoting justice then? Did we, as a society, let suicide and euthanasia come into existence as a legal right because we are full of love for one another?

Contemporary law focuses on human desires and profits. When there is no love, everything is measured by its utility. And utility is measured by desire and profit. Here, life is evaluated for its usefulness. Why do some want convenient suicide and euthanasia? If life poses too much pain and suffering, or even just much headache, according to this reasoning, it is not useful to keep. Life becomes a burden to everyone. And this burden costs economic resources, too. Then, end it! How simple is that!