OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW! ~ CookingFood.Org

“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”

Daily Reflections

Sunday, 12^thFebruary 2017.

Sixth Week in the Ordinary Time

Sir 15:16-21;

Ps 118:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34;

1Cor 2:6-10;

Mt 5:17-37

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW!

God calls us not just to a moral life, but a radical way of living. We are walking towards perfection by habitually choosing to do well. Naturally we are not perfect, but God calls us to reflect on how we live and to understand what has gone right and wrong for us. By reflecting on our experience in the light of faith we grow in wisdom. Jesus preaches us a religion that should become increasingly interior and personal to the individual.

The first reading invites us to take every advantage to make the right choices in life. Sirach announces that God’s commandments have the saving power. Moses declared to the people of Israel as he stood at the River Jordan that he set before them the choice: life and prosperity, death and doom. The choice was theirs to make. Sirach now tells the people, echoing the words of Moses, that God has set before them fire and water, life and death, good and evil. He motivates us to make the right choice by stating that God’s eyes are on those who fear him. It is a strong image that reminds us that we cannot conceal our thoughts and actions from God.

Matthew’s gospel primarily written for Jewish Christians, can be seen as words of encouragement for them. Matthew constantly refers to the Old Testament to show that the life of Jesus is not a breakaway from the past Jewish traditions but is a continuation of all that was foretold by the prophecies earlier. The life and teaching of Jesus is not to be seen as a new religion; Jesus’ life is the natural development of the story of salvation. He reassures his readers that Jesus has not come to abolish the Law and the prophets but to bring them to completion. So, in a sense, the Law still has its force and it will not pass away till it has achieved the purpose for which it was given. For Jesus the entire meaning of the Law could be summed up in one word, namely, ‘Respect’ or ‘Reverence’. Reverence to the person of God, to his name, to his day, reverence to the parents, respect for life, property, personality, respect for truth and to a person’s good name and finally respect for self. In other words the entire law is said to be ‘reverence for God’ and ‘respect for self’ and others. For, this reverence and respect did not consist of small rules and norms but consisted in the commandment of love: love of God and love of neighbor. He did not abolish the Law but introduced a completely new way of thinking and understanding of the law. He did not abolish or change the Law but went far beyond its requirements. For Jesus, external observance of the law is not enough. To be a disciple of Jesus it is necessary to realize the meaning of the law which is built on love. To keep the Law without love is like having a body without a soul. That is why he tells his disciples that unless their virtue goes deeper than that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, they will not enter the Kingdom of God.

In order to make his disciples understand his teaching, Jesus gives six striking examples and in today’s Gospel, we have four of them: anger, adultery, divorce and oath. He clearly states that it is not enough simply to keep what the Law tells us but practice the basic virtues attached to them. For him there can be no separation between our relationship with God and the relationship with people. A Christian has to find God in his brothers and sisters and in creation.

Prayer: Lord, please make me pure of heart. Help me to be a person of honesty and integrity. May the truth that You place in my heart be the basis of my actions and my words. May I speak with a clear conscience always speaking what You give me to speak. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.