Word to the Wise
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 - Wednesday in the 10th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Kgs 18:20-39 and Matt 5:17-19]"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." [Matthew]
To understand the gospel portrait of Jesus presented to us by the evangelist Matthew, two things can be very helpful. The first is the audience for whom Matthew composed the portrait - a Jewish Christian community that found itself in tension with other Jews and not sure of its future identity. The second is the "big picture" of God's plan of salvation at the center of which is Jesus who becomes the whole purpose and point of the Mosaic Law. One might see in all of this a familiar contemporary debate in the Body of Christ - the Church - which is frequently couched in these terms: reform v. continuity. The tension between these two concepts has preoccupied the Church ever since Pope St. John XXIII announced his intention of summoning an ecumenical council shortly after his election to the papacy in 1958. The Second Vatican Council met from 1962 to 1965 and its impact and debates over the "letter" and "spirit" of that council are with us still today.
Jesus is presented in the Gospel According to Matthew as the "fulfillment" of the Law of Moses - i.e. the whole purpose for which the law was given to Moses in the first place!! He is both continuity and reform at the same time. St. Paul's Letter to the Romans reflects the development of this in the light of the conversion of Gentiles to faith. Both the Mosaic Law and the "inner law" of the Gentiles are to be understood in the light of Jesus Christ. [cf Romans 2 and 3].
The great impact of the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of Jesus' teachings in one place in Matthew's portrait, is in its touching on the inner life of faith and morals. Outside observance must come from inner conversion. Our very thoughts are as important as our actions. The Sermon on the Mount is a challenging call to reform in living out the continuity of God's plan of salvation. There is much to come! Stay tuned! AMEN