Did you know that in Texas it is illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow? It is against the law in Kansas to catch fish with your bare hands. In the state of Washington, it's illegal to catch a fish by throwing a rock at it. In Nagales, Arizona, it is illegal to wear suspenders. In Alabama, it is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church. It is against the law to hunt whale in Oklahoma.
Rules, statutes, and commandments help us live in a society. We recognize that these limits on freedom make it possible for us to develop a community that can serve the common good. And yet not every law carries equal weight.
In today's Gospel Jesus points out that God's laws take precedence over human rules. God's laws are not just directed at forming external behavior. God's laws were given to us so that we could live as God intended us to live. As Jesus makes clear, it is one's internal attitude that can be in need of improvement. What puts us into a healthy, life-giving relationship with God is when we treat our fellow men and women with kindness, consideration, respect, compassion and love. It is when we maryy our inner convictions, the values we cherish, with our actions. Ultimately, the commandments of the Lord require a change of heart!
