Rev. Nicholas Apostola| Telegram & Gazette

Above the entrance to the former Worcester County Courthouse in Worcester's Lincoln Square is a phrase: Obedience to the Law is Liberty. Id driven past the building hundreds of times, reading the phrase without paying too much attention to it. Like many of you, I suppose, it just registered as an appropriate saying for a hall of justice.

I was driving past it one day with an older man who was a regular visitor to Worcester. He looked up at the words and remarked on their deep meaning. I listened. Coming from a place where the rule of law had disappeared and liberty was a distant memory, the words touched him. He began in his way to unpack them. I have never been able to pass that courthouse again without reflecting on the phrase.

The three fundamental words in the saying are: obedience, law, and liberty. Each has a long history in human thought. They shape how we see ourselves and others, and how we formulate society and nation.

Obedience comes into English from Latin. The obvious meaning is to comply to an order given. Its root, however, is different. It has to do with a listening toward understanding. Implicit is a conversation, perhaps one sided, but nonetheless requiring a little back-and-forth. So, really, blind obedience is an oxymoron; youre supposed to understand why you should do what youve been directed to do. Freedom lies at its foundation.

Law is a touch more complicated. For as long as people were given to thinking, they noticed that ideas of right and wrong are innate, even toddlers are aware of it. Spiritual and philosophical traditions developed theories around this phenomenon of a basic universal sense of law and justice. As societies became more sophisticated a debate centered around whether laws were created (by rulers or legislatures) or discovered through spiritual wisdom.

There were great law-givers such asHammurabi, or Solon, who wrote and codified law. On the spiritual side one of the first who comes to mind is Moses, also called law-giver, but who received the Law by revelation from God. Regardless, there was general agreement that the basic sense of law was hardwired, and in the conscience.

In Western thought and theology, this natural instinct and insight was refined into the concept of Natural Law. One of the best examples of Natural Law codified isthe Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments' principles pop up in the customs and laws of almost every society. Humanity shares a basic sense of right and wrong.

When Jesus began to preach, his words seemed fresh and new. People who listened to him said he spoke with authority. But he himself emphasized that he had not come to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. He was urging those listening to a deeper understanding of Gods law, Gods will. He said that God wanted to write the Law on their hearts. He was upping the ante.

You can hear it when he says things like: You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Committing or not committing adultery is covered in the Natural Law. Recognizing the temptation leading to adultery is a level above. Understanding law as rules to follow, while figuring out how to get around them, misses the point. Law that is written on our hearts is another matter entirely.

Whenever my father would hear of someone who had either skirted the law, or got caught trying to, he would say to me: locks are made for honest people. Ive heard the same saying as: locks are made to keep people honest. The meaning: a basically honest person will be deterred by a lock when tempted. Someone who isnt will find a way to commit the crime regardless.

Law is more than words written and codified. It is a way to the good life, to eternal life.

Finally, there is probably no more misunderstood word than liberty or freedom. We think it means to be able to do whatever we want, as long as it doesnt hurt someone else. But when does what I do, good or bad, not effect someone else?

Freedom is to be free from things that distort our judgment and constrain our will toward the good. Pleasure is sweet, until it isnt. To act irresponsibly is fun, until it isnt. Life is beautiful and a joy; were meant to partake of it. To abuse it is to bring suffering, not freedom.

So, if we follow the Law, and listen to what it teaches, it will indeed bring liberty. The challenge is to actually do it.

The Rev. Nicholas Apostola is parish priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury.

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Keep the Faith: Obedience to the law is liberty? - Worcester Telegram