Gospel: Mathew 5:17-19

 

Today’s Gospel teaches how to observe the law of God in such a way that its practice indicates in what its complete fulfillment consists. 

 

Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is to be salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.

 

There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus. Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament. There were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament. 

 

The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized Him continued to be timely for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close themselves off in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, what was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of people, that is, in the perfect practice of love.