Towards the Heart of the Law

Year A – Ordinary Time – 6th Sunday
Matthew 5:17–37: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to bring them to fulfilment.”

After the Beatitudes and the revelation of our identity — salt of the earth and light of the world — today Jesus enters the very heart of his mission: to bring the Law and the Prophets to their full fulfilment.

1. Freedom, Law and Wisdom

The readings for this Sunday revolve around three realities: freedom, law and wisdom.

FREEDOM (First Reading)
“If you choose to keep his commandments, they will preserve you… He has set before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before each person lie life and death, good and evil; whichever one chooses will be given” (Ecclesiasticus 15:16–21).
In these powerful words of the wise Sirach we hear an echo of those of Moses (see Deuteronomy 11:26–28 and 30:15). The Word places before us a crossroads: fire or water, life or death, good or evil… The choice is ours! It is easy to evade responsibility by blaming social pressures or by saying, “everyone does it”.
The life of a believer is a constant exercise of freedom. Our lives are shaped by a series of small daily choices: “Stretch out your hand for whichever you wish… whichever one chooses will be given.”

LAW (Psalm and Gospel)
The responsorial psalm is part of Psalm 119. This long alphabetical psalm (176 verses) is a hymn of esteem and affection for the Law of God. Eight times the Psalmist declares: “Your law is my delight” — a unique expression in the Psalter.
It should be clarified that Torah, in Hebrew, does not mean “law” in the merely juridical sense. The Law of Moses — the Torah — is the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, regarded by the Jews as the most sacred part of Scripture. In practice, it is a synonym for the Word of God. That is why Jesus affirms, at the beginning of today’s Gospel passage, that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to bring them to fulfilment.

WISDOM (Second Reading)
“Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak God’s wisdom…” (1 Corinthians 2:6–10).
Divine wisdom enables us to savour the hidden flavour of the Law. A gift of the Holy Spirit, it heals us from the illusions of a distorted freedom. The law can appear as a limit imposed upon our freedom. Within each of us there is something of Eve’s grasping hand, wanting to seize what is not ours. Wisdom makes us like Solomon, able to appreciate and receive God’s gifts.

2. The New Law of Jesus

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to bring them to fulfilment.”

Jesus, the Messiah, is the one who truly fulfils the whole Law, the Word of God. Indeed, he himself is the Word. But what does “to bring to fulfilment” mean?

The text contains a whole series of instructions which Jesus seems to add to those already in existence. This might suggest that “full fulfilment” consists in multiplying precepts.

According to the Talmud (one of the sacred texts of Judaism), the Torah contains 613 commandments. Of these, 248 (the number of bones in the human body according to rabbinic tradition) were positive — obligations — and 365 (like the days of the year) were negative — prohibitions. The intention behind this multiplication of precepts was noble: to regulate life according to the dictates of the Word of God.

Yet, on closer reflection, this is not Jesus’ intention. In order to bring the Law to “full fulfilment”, Jesus moves in the direction of radicalisation — that is, towards the root of the commandments. This becomes explicit in Matthew 22:36–40: “On these two commandments [love of God and neighbour] hang all the Law and the Prophets.” To radicalise, then, is to simplify. To radicalise is to uproot the root of evil. To radicalise is to restore the Law to its heart: love.

3. Some Examples

To explain what he means by fulfilment, Jesus offers six examples, presented in the form of antitheses: “You have heard that it was said… But I say to you…”. Today’s Gospel presents the first four.

  • Jesus begins with the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill.” He reveals the root of murder: anger. And he reminds us that we can also kill with words.
  • The second and third examples concern sexuality, beginning from the sixth commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” Here too Jesus urges us to seek the root of adultery — in the gaze, in desire, in the heart.
  • The fourth antithesis concerns speech in relationships: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’, ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the Evil One.” Jesus asks us to leave no room for ambiguity and duplicity, which easily allow the Evil One to enter.

Conclusion: Only Love Fulfils the Law

We live in a sea of laws. Social life requires it. Our freedom seems increasingly restricted by rules and regulations. We lead “small” lives, apparently insignificant ones. We do not belong to the club of the great, and history will soon forget us.

And yet each person is unique and, in his or her own way, is called to make of life a masterpiece. How? By investing in the one thing that endures for ever: love. Only love fulfils the law and makes us free. And love makes us great.

“If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets as Michelangelo painted his pictures; sweep streets as Handel and Beethoven composed their music. Sweep streets as Shakespeare wrote his poetry. Sweep them so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say: Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” (Martin Luther King)

Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ



Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
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Our cross is the pulpit of the Word