June 08, 2016 Wednesday
10th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading:
1 Kgs 18: 20-39
Gospel: Matthew 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.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel
in the Assimilated Life
Experience)
“Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through” (Jonathan Swift, The Faculties of the Mind). Swift’s maxim is not without basis. Experience points to many instances where laws close an eye to the infractions of the elite. But if laws should make any accommodations, it should be in favor of the poor. “Those who have less in life should have more in law” (Pres. Ramon Magsaysay).
Magsaysay’s maxim seems to echo of Jesus’ attitude towards the Law. He openly violated the Sabbath Law when it was time to heal those in bondage of longtime sickness. This alone makes us wonder why in today’s Gospel reading he vowed to keep the smallest letter of the Law. He said: “As long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.”
The key to the understanding of this apparent inconsistency is the New Law of Love Jesus was advocating. Jesus hinted to a time when this new law of love would be effective. The phrase “as long as heaven and earth last”, refers to a period that was then ending. Until that last and final age was over, Jesus’ teachings were to remain within the framework of the Law of Moses. That’s why he said “As long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change…” His Death was to signal the end of that age that would usher in a new age governed by the New Law of Love. At the end of that age, the new law of love was to completely prevail over the Mosaic Law.
But the law of love also stands to suffer the fate of manmade laws compared by Swift to cobwebs that catch small flies but let wasps break through. If not well understood, people can be selective in their exercise of the love commandment. Admittedly, just as cobwebs cannot hold big wasps, love can break before people who are difficult to love. But if we love only those who are easy to love, what merit is there in that? (Matthew 5:46-48). – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected].
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA
REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.