The law of love

My parents loved me. They were fair. The rules by which so many people co-existed in one household were built on love and trust. None of us was perfect and if the music had to be faced, there was nothing to fear. Even after being disciplined, there was no place for doubting being loved, needed, cared for or being part of a family.

The Ten Commandments or Decalogue found in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy are indeed at the core of the Law of Moses, although there are a total 613 mitzvot or commandments to be found in the First or Old Testament. The Catholic Church has its own canon law which comprises 1752 laws.

Laws arise from lived experience, based on common wisdom. It is possible to view the Decalogue as rules for survival as a community. Some commentators suggest that the Decalogue was constructed to ensure the integrity of the Hebrew people – written and edited by a variety of communities between 922 and 622 BC, others surmise that the Decalogue owes its origins to the Hittites (an ancient middle eastern people) or even to the Egyptians. Biblical tradition acknowledges Moses himself as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the scriptures), and, of course, the personal recipient of the Decalogue on Mt Sinai.

At the risk of being over simplistic, my parents brought the rules for good life, good conduct and good relationships from their families. They adapted and changed these rules through experimentation, success and failure. They may never have articulated them as a code, but they lived them and offered them as gifts to their children. In turn my wife and I brought to our family the sum of what our families gave to us, and so it continues. We too have no written code, for what we have passed on to our children is both oral and experiential.

The Law of Christ is also the sum of what Jesus offered to his disciples. Again, not a list of rules, but a way of life. Lived exceptionally we understand that a new age is inaugurated (the kingdom of God). We do not need any number of laws or commandments to live the Law of Christ. What we need is a life whose foundation is built upon love and trust, and above all faith.

On Tuesday we celebrate the feast of St Patrick. Patrick was without doubt one whose true foundation was built on Christ and whose rich and extraordinary life is both admirable and exemplary.