THE WORD BECSME FLESH

Wednesday of tenth week in Ordinary Time, 2022

1Kgs 18:20-39

Ps      

Matt 5:17-19

Not to abolish but to fulfill

The opening statement of Jesus in today’s gospel reading (5:17-19), ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets’ suggests that there were some who believed that Jesus was doing just that. In reality, he declares, he has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, in the sense of revealing what truly corresponds to God’s will in all of the Law and the Prophets. 

Jesus presents himself in the gospel of Matthew as the authentic interpreter of the word of God in the Law and the Prophets. Because Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us, he is uniquely placed to interpret what God is truly saying to us through the Law and the Prophets. Jesus insists that the Jewish Law, as he interprets it, is valid ‘till heaven and earth disappear’. In the remainder of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus will highlight what he terms ‘the weightier matters of the Law, which he identifies as ‘justice, mercy, and faith’. He also highlights the greatest commandments of the Law, the love of God with all one’s being and the love of neighbor as oneself. All prescriptions of the Jewish Law must be tested against these three fundamental values and two great commandments. 

Even though much of the Jewish Law no longer applies to us today, Jesus’ interpretation of the Jewish Law remains valid for all time. Jesus did not abandon the old but drew out what was best there, recognizing that God who now speaks through him also spoke through the traditions of the past. There is always some good in the past, whether it is our communal past or our past. The Lord is always at work to bring what is best there to full flowering.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts, minds, and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words, and deeds may be in accord with your Father's law wisdom. Amen

+Remain blessed