Thoughts on Wednesday's Gospel
MT 5:17-19
Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but how could he who is their source and their fulfillment abolish them? Unfortunately, sometimes people try to minimize Jesus' teachings -the "Jesus didn't say anything about 'X' so I can do whatever I want" as if Jesus came to offer us some sort of legal text or canon. Jesus is the source of all law, so Jesus has something to say about everything we should do even if he did not specifically state it in the Gospels. Certainly we always need to act with discernment and strive to properly form our consciences, but we shouldn't compartmentalize our lives in to "Jesus applies here" and "Jesus doesn't apply here". For, in Jesus fulfilling the law does not mean obeying a set of rules or proscriptions, fulfilling the law means becomeing more fully the human beings that God has intended - becoming more truly who we really are.
Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but how could he who is their source and their fulfillment abolish them? Unfortunately, sometimes people try to minimize Jesus' teachings -the "Jesus didn't say anything about 'X' so I can do whatever I want" as if Jesus came to offer us some sort of legal text or canon. Jesus is the source of all law, so Jesus has something to say about everything we should do even if he did not specifically state it in the Gospels. Certainly we always need to act with discernment and strive to properly form our consciences, but we shouldn't compartmentalize our lives in to "Jesus applies here" and "Jesus doesn't apply here". For, in Jesus fulfilling the law does not mean obeying a set of rules or proscriptions, fulfilling the law means becomeing more fully the human beings that God has intended - becoming more truly who we really are.
posted by Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, TOR | 6:50 AM
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