+ Our gospel today is not an easy one to interpret in some respects. When Jesus says that he has “not come to abolish but to fulfill.. [that]until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law,” we may be wondering what is this Law he is talking about? There was the law given to Moses in the ten commandments but then there came to be all kinds of interpretations of the Law that Jesus did not hesitate to disregard in front of the Scribes and Pharisees that led to his death.
What is clear is that the Law for Jesus was perfectly expressed in the love of God and neighbor and the whole of our own lives is to be a response to this gift of grace. The only way we will be faithful to all that God is asking of us is by allowing the Holy Spirit as guide for all that we think and do throughout the day. Through this gift of God’s presence in our hearts we will not only obey all that God commands of us, but teach and empower others to carry out all that is being asked of them in the circumstances of their own lives. It is then that the Eucharist becomes the source and center of all our Christian lives.
Deut. 4:1,5-9; Mt 5:17-19