The teachings of Jesus to his disciples, as they gathered around him on the mountain, remind us that the mountain is a place where God speaks to people, giving them his commandments, as he did through the Prophets of the Old Testament. Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Behold the disciples of Jesus receiving life’s great guiding principles on the mountain. Jesus leads us on a physical and spiritual journey towards a life of regulation and perfection, from bottom to top. In the first reading, taken from the book of Ben Sirac the Wise, we are given the choice of how we want to live: we can follow his guidelines to accomplish our choice: “Reach out for what you prefer”. In the letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us that the wisdom of God, a hidden mystery, is revealed to us by the Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus opens us to the Spirit.
I have not come to abolish, but to fulfil
The Old Testament teaches us a law to be followed radically, under pain of severe sanctions. The Gospel, on the other hand, presents a teaching of mercy and love that appeals to the heart. Jesus calls us to bring about an inner change that will impact the outside world. He does not ask us to abandon the ancient law; rather, he teaches us a new approach, one that starts from within and radiates outward, rather than the other way around. Jesus did not abolish or do away with the old law handed down by the prophets, but he went beyond it and gave a new direction on how to live it with the heart, that is, with a real inner commitment that spills over into the outside world: “You have heard that it was said… But I say to you…”
The Challenge of Jesus’ Teaching
We would misunderstand this passage if we denied the challenges that Jesus’ teaching poses to observing the commandments. We hear Jesus setting the record straight in these terms: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them”.
Jesus shows us how to fulfil the law: not by removing the demands of the commandments, but by taking them to their highest level.
We know that the law has an educational function. It defines what is permitted and what is forbidden. It also defines what is good and what is evil. The law, therefore, provides us with guidelines to follow. However, following these guidelines may not be accompanied by the heart.
Conversion of the heart
One can obey and put into practice the commandments and laws without necessarily understanding their deeper logic. It is like the story of the duck and the river water. That is why Jesus tells us that he has come to fulfil the law and not to abolish it: “You have been told that whoever commits murder will be answerable to the court… Well, I tell you: anyone who is angry with his brother will be answerable to the court”. Murder is what we call the act of hatred and violence. But Jesus tells us that it is not only murder that is evil, but everything that drives us to commit murder, that is, being angry with our brother.
For Jesus, it is no longer simply a matter of judging actions, but of judging the intention of the heart. “Well, I say to you: Do not swear by anything. Let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no; anything more than this comes from the evil one”. Jesus invites his disciples to take a different approach, a new method that allows us to go deeper into our being, into our hearts. The application of the law or commandment is no longer only external, but also internal. This change is permanent. It is a perpetual conversion that is required: “Repent and believe in the Good News”. May Lent be a time of conversion, joy, peace and encounter.
The Lord be with you.
By: Mathieu Kane, M.Afr.