Francis Gayang csc
Readings: 1Kgs 18:20-39; Mt 5:17-19
“I have come not to abolish but to fulfil the law.” Laws are set to give direction, not an end in itself. They are meant to help achieve our set aims in a just manner.
They help maintain order, resolve disputes, protect rights and liberties of people. Mosaic laws for spiritual purposes were meant to redirect Israelites to God. They were a source of spiritual knowledge and wisdom. So, the laws are a way of disciplining us to find meaning and purpose in life.
Many prophets had prophesied of the promised Messiah who would liberate the people from the slavery of sins and reunite all of us with God, the Father. Today, Jesus is here amidst us, the promised messiah, teaching and showing us through his words and actions, that he is the promised Lamb of God, who has come to set the captives free as Isaiah
had prophesied (Is 61:1).
Jesus quoted Isaiah’s words in the synagogue on the Sabbath day at the start of his Galilean ministry (Lk 4:18) and affirmed it by saying, “Today, this reading has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). So, Jesus is the continuity and discontinuity of the Old Testament covenant. Through him, everything had been made new.
He discontinued the old covenantal relationship and renewed it with his sacrificial love. This marked the beginning of a new covenant, a rule by the commandments of love over judgment. Love should reign above all; first towards God and then the neighbours.
Through this gospel passage, I am invited to observe the commandments and teach others likewise not just by my words but actions too. So, therefore, it is not enough just to accept Christ publicly, but to live by what we believe in.