Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9
Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?
"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Gospel Mt 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
Reflection:
Do you view God's law negatively or positively? Jesus'
attitude towards the law of God can be summed up in the great prayer of
Psalm 119: "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the
day." For the people of Israel the "law" could refer to the ten commandments
or to the five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, which explain the
commandments and ordinances of God for his people. The "law" also referred
to the whole teaching or way of life which God gave to his people. The
Jews in Jesus' time also used it as a description of the oral or scribal
law. Needless to say, the scribes added many more things to the law than
God intended. That is why Jesus often condemned the scribal law. It placed
burdens on people which God had not intended. Jesus, however, made it very
clear that the essence of God's law – his commandments and way of life,
must be fulfilled.
Jesus taught reverence for God's law – reverence for God himself, for
the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for
property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for one's
neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect
for God's commandments teach us the way of love – love of God and love
of neighbor. What is impossible to men and women is possible to God and
those who put their faith and trust in God. Through the gift of the Holy
Spirit the Lord transforms us and makes us like himself. We are a new creation
in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) because "God's love has been poured into
our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans
5:5). God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives,
to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts. The Lord loves justice and
goodness and he hates every form of wickedness and sin. He wants to set
us free from our unruly desires and sinful habits, so that we can choose
to live each day in the peace, joy, and righteousness of his Holy Spirit
(Romans 14: 17). To renounce sin is to turn away from what is harmful and
destructive for our minds and hearts, and our very lives. As his followers
we must love and respect his commandments and hate every form of sin. Do
you love and revere the commands of the Lord?
"Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern
our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be
according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and protected through
your mighty help."
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