Homily | July 17, 2026 | Why God’s Law Exists To Help People Flourish | (Episode 200)

One of the greatest spiritual dangers is that we can become more concerned with the rules than with the reason the rules exist.

That's exactly what Jesus confronts in today's gospel.

The Pharisees see the disciples plucking grain because they're hungry.

They do not see hungry men, they only see a violation.

They're so focused on the law that they completely miss the people standing right there in front of them.

Jesus responds with one of the most important lines I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

Notice that he does not reject sacrifice, he does not abolish the Sabbath, he simply restores its proper purpose.

God never gave his commandments to burden his children.

He gave them so that his children could flourish.

The law was always meant to lead us to love.

That's the lesson the church has had to remember in every age.

Rules do matter, discipline matters, truth matters.

But whenever the application of a rule becomes detached from law, something has gone terribly wrong.

The first reading gives us this beautiful example of what we're talking about.

King Hezekiah is told that he's going to die.

There's no argument, no negotiation.

Yet instead of falling into despair, what does he do?

He turns his face to the wall and prays.

He pours out his whole heart before God.

He cries.

He's honest.

He places himself entirely in God's hands.

Then something remarkable happens.

God hears his prayer.

God sees his tears.

Scripture does not simply say that God heard his words.

It says he saw his tears.

The Lord responds by granting him fifteen more years of life.

That should give every single one of us tremendous hope.

Prayer is not informing God of something he does not already know.

Prayer opens our hearts to the God who already knows us completely.

Our tears are never wasted before him.

Now there's another detail that's easy to overlook.

Isaiah tells the king to apply a poultice of figs to the boil.

God performs the miracle, but he also uses ordinary means.

Divine grace and human action work together.

God could have healed Hezekiah instantly, but instead he chose to work through a simple remedy.

That is how God often works in our lives.

He heals us through doctors, through medicine, through wise counselors, through faithful friends, through the sacraments and through daily acts of obedience.

We should never oppose faith and ordinary means.

God is often working through both.

When we place today's readings together, one theme emerges.

God is not distant.

He is not cold.

He's not looking for technical violations so that he can condemn us.

No, he is a father who sees our tears, hears our prayers, feeds the hungry, heals the sick, and teaches us that mercy is the deepest expression of his law.

The challenge for us is simple.

Do I look at people the way the Pharisees did?

I first notice where they fall short?

Or do I look at them the way Christ does, first noticing their hunger, their wounds, and the need for mercy?

Because in the end, holiness is not measured by how well we can quote the rules.

Holiness is measured by how much our hearts have begun to resemble the heart of Jesus, a heart who is full both of truth and mercy.

Amen.