Wednesday, June 12, 2002
10th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1 K 18:20-39
Gospel: Mt 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not think that I have come to remove
the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them.
I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter
or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.
So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven.
On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same
will be great in the kingdom of heaven."
Commentary
"No to ChaCha" (Constitutional Charter Change) has been the battle cry in the Philippines whenever some politicians wanted to accommodate the Constitution to their interests. Scribes and Pharisees were trying to provide the Law more strict interpretations. Most of the people (here we are) would like to make it a bit easier, not so demanding. Leave the Law as it is, Jesus would say. It is a good guide for life, though it is not the life. Everything is to be fulfilled. Observing the laws of the Bible is not an end in itself. They are an expression of real love and are its guidelines. In observing them we become receptive to the Spirit who will lead us far. We will discover a "righteousness" far superior to the canonists of those times, the teachers of the Law.