“I HAVE COME NOT TO ABOLISH [THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS] BUT TO FULFILL THEM” (Matt 5:17)

⏰Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time 1 (14 June 2017)

????2 Cor 3:4-11; Ps 99:5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (R.v.9c); Matt 5:17-19

Of all the Gospels, Matthew shows more sympathy to the Jewish traditions. The interest of the Gospel is more on purification and renewal of those traditions rather than complete obliteration and replacement. That explains the statement of Jesus that we quoted above.

Remember that the prophet Jeremiah had prophesied of a time when God would make a new covenant with his people, in which the letters of the law would be written in the hearts of men instead of the tablets of stone (Jer 31:31-34). That is the message of the fulfilment of the Law which Jesus seeks in Matt 5:17-19.

St Paul affirms that in 2 Cor 3:4-11, reminding us that what is important is the Spirit of the Law and not the letters. The spirit of the law is to take us back to our God who is holy (cf. Ps 99:5-9), so that we may truly be his people and he, our God (cf. Exod 6:7; Lev 26:12; Jer 30:22; Ezek 36:28).

As it is said, all laws take their foundation from the Divine Law. So, if there is any law which does not serve the purpose of taking us back to God, it needs to be purified and renewed.

May God give our legislators the grace to be his instruments in the process of purifying and renewing our laws so as to help us live better in love and peace. Amen.

I wish you a spirit-filled and peaceful day. Peace be with you.