Matthew 5:17-19

Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3

Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you call me to a high standard of life in the New Covenant. I realize that on my own, I cannot live this, but also that, with your grace, all things are possible. With the grace of your Son and Spirit, I can be holy and perfect, love my enemies, and forgive those who sin against me.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Fulfilling the Law: Matthew’s Gospel often brings out how the new age inaugurated by Jesus, i.e., “the age to come” (Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30), relates to the old age, i.e., “this age” (Matthew 12:32). Between the old and the new, there is much continuity: “the gospel is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and the world in the Old Testament; the Church continues Israel’s work of redemption in the world; the Eucharist is the Church’s sacrificial rite fulfilling the sacrificial rites of Israel. And yet many things change in Jesus’s coming as Christ and the fulfillment of all things old” (Huzienga, Behold the Christ, 148). The word “fulfill” connotes making something bear fruit that it has always potentially contained. And so, Jesus, over a thousand years after Moses mediated the Old Law to Israel, Jesus is making the Old Law bear its fruit in its fullness and abundance.

2. Until Heaven and Earth Pass Away: When we look at the 613 Laws of Moses, we realize almost immediately that certain laws – like the 29 dietary laws about not eating shellfish, pork, and other foods – are no longer binding. In fact, the Gospel of Mark says that Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19). And so, when did “heaven and earth pass away”? Jesus’ phase refers to the destruction of his body and the destruction of the Temple, which was seen as a microcosm of the universe. This means that certain aspects of the Law of Moses passed away with Jesus’ crucifixion in A.D. 30 and the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Almost a third of the 613 Laws of Moses – 202 to be exact – dealt with the Temple and its sacrifices. Other laws, like the Ten Commandments, remain in effect after the Temple’s destruction and are even intensified by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. Unlike the Old Law, which did not empower the people of Israel to follow it, the New Law gives the grace of the Holy Spirit and empowers the New People of God to follow it and grow in holiness and perfection.

3. The Message of Paul and Barnabas: As we celebrate today the memorial of Saint Barnabas, we can recall how he, along with Paul, brought the message of the Gospel to the nations. They preached how Jesus came to fulfill the Law of Moses and the Prophets. This message met with opposition among the Judaizers. They rejected the Gospel message of Paul and Barnabas that faith in Christ justifies, while the works of the Old Law could not. The Spirit and the New Law of Jesus give life, while the letter and the Old Law of Moses do not (2 Corinthians 3:6). Paul and Barnabas had a difficult task, a humanly impossible task. They had to demonstrate this newness of life in their words and actions. They had to cooperate day in and day out with the grace of Christ to be authentic witnesses of the Gospel of salvation.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, inscribe your law on my heart. Cut away my stubbornness and resistance to your grace. Guide me with your Spirit and make me docile to the Spirit’s inspirations.

Living the Word of God: Am I teaching others the new commandment of love? How do I live this in my family? Am I a model of love and charity? What do I need to change?