God’s Commandments: Sign Of Freedom And Love
Introduction
What is the meaning of the commandments to us? To some, they are the summary and summit of all morality; to others, narrow and outmoded rules; still to others, obstacles to the freedom of the Gospel.
To Israel, they were the expression of fidelity to God and to the whole people as part of God’s covenant. They were the road to freedom from all forms of slavery: to other gods, to selfishness, to exploitation of one person by another. They were the sign of belonging to God and God’s nearness. And they were witnesses that love of God and love of neighbour cannot be separated.
In Christ, all this is fulfilled, and more. The commandments remain, but they become a basic step not to salvation by observances but to seeking communion with God in Christ and communion with our neighbour, and they are animated by love.
Reading: Deuteronomy 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 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.
Verse before the Gospel: John 6:63c, 68c
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
Gospel: Matthew 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.”
Commentary
There are few verses in the New Testament more widely debated than those from the Matthean Gospel read today. The claim for the lasting value of the Torah seems to be the antithesis of Paul’s teaching on freedom from the law. Moreover, there is no historical evidence that the Church ever retained every precept of Torah. The fact is that most of its legislation did not continue.
However, it is helpful to begin with the facts. Paul insisted that the precepts of the Jewish law must not obtain among Gentile Christians. His position prevailed. If we are correct in the assumption that Matthew’s Gospel was written for a largely Jewish Christian community, then law observance may well have obtained for some period of time. This would have been seen as consonant with Jesus’ basic respect for the law during his lifetime.
The examples used in Matthew 5 of fulfilling the law and not destroying it do not in any way violate Paul’s thought. The Decalogue contained basic moral norms that Jesus did not ignore but raised to a new level. Where the law forbade killing, the teaching of Christ includes even hostility. Where it forbade adultery, Jesus forbids even lustful thoughts and looks. The law is fulfilled in going beyond it. Both Matthew and Paul champion a new ethic that in its premises respects and upholds the basic principles of Torah.
The reading from Deuteronomy today provides insight on why Torah was held in such esteem. It brought God close to his people. His will for them was expressed with clarity. It did not require mental gyrations to God’s intentions.
As we make the journey of life, we are comforted by the fact that God’s will for us, especially as expressed in Jesus, is a guiding light, a beacon on what are at times stormy seas. At times, we find it difficult to live as a Christian. We make mistakes. But the will of God remains a great grace for which we can only be grateful as we make the journey. After all, Jesus himself later assuredly declared, “Come to me, all you that labour and are overburdened… Take my yoke upon you… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).
Blessing
Let the great commandment given us by Jesus guide our life and make it beautiful and rich: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!