Mateo 5,17-37
What was the Law for Jesus? What does it mean for me to fulfill the law?
In the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus invites us to stand and reflect on the law. A topic that is possibly unappealing to most, especially in these times when we associate “laws” with controversies and political confrontations.
Therefore, it is possible that when we hear this first affirmation that Matthew puts into the mouth of Jesus “I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it”, or its fulfillment, as it is sometimes translated, we do not feel especially excited.
Perhaps we can start by asking ourselves, what was the Law to Jesus? and what does it mean for me to fulfill the law? From where do I do what “I have to do”? From routine or custom? From the pressure of what others will say about me?… or from the heart?
The gospel continues introducing a new word, righteousness. Matthew surprisingly affirms that if our righteousness is not greater than that of these groups who “officially” are the law-keepers, we will not enter the Kingdom. This affirmation is luminous and liberating; we discover in it that Jesus is not speaking to us about the fulfillment of a multitude of precepts literally, dehumanized and far from what is being forged in the heart. For Jesus, the fullness of the Law is righteousness.
That is to say, fulfilling the law in its fullness is not fulfilling precepts, but living in reference to God and to others, to every man and woman who is my neighbor. And this reference to God and to others is not in a isolated or separate way. If my brother or sister, whoever they may be, has something against me, that prevents me from approaching God by trying to “fulfill” what I understand as religious precepts. Because how will God, father and mother merciful, accept our offering if his other sons and daughters have complaints against us and we do not attend to them?
The demand of this way of living the law causes us to transform from within, that our heart becomes more compassionate, that we know how to forgive, that reconciliation is our attitude in order to build community… because the fullness of the law is in the heart, not only in external actions.
What follows in the Gospel text concretizes and expresses this way of fulfilling the law that Jesus wants in tense situations in the early communities, the topic of divorce and oaths.
The act of repudiation that any man could give to his wife for minimal causes, leaving her without possibilities of a dignified life, disregarding her, is clearly an unjust custom that goes against the underlying principle, the ultimate goal of the law, and Jesus warns his followers about this. Broadening our gaze, what does this say to us today? How many people do we give any kind of “divorce decree” to and then disown them? Because they are not of ours, because we don’t like what they do or think, because they come from…. And then, can we approach to celebrate the Eucharist without further ado?
In a society where the value of the word was immense because there was no other type of contract, the oath had become distorted. It no longer relied on the truth of what was being sworn or promised, but on who or why it was sworn, with the result that truth could be abolished by twisted affirmations. The gospel rejects any form of oath. Jesus invites us to love the truth, to live in truth, and to speak the truth. Simply, simply… the rest is not of the Kingdom. Surely we are remembering that other passage in which Jesus affirms that he is the Truth. (Jn 14, 6) What real value do we give to truth? Do we dissimulate it, ignore it, make pacts to achieve other interests that distort it?
When this Sunday we hear “Have you heard what was said, but I say to you,” we will realize that Jesus does not change, add, or take away precepts, but rather deepens them, brings them to the heart, to the center, to the root of the person, from where justice springs forth.
Let us embrace this invitation to give fullness to the law in our lives. Let us listen to the voice of Jesus who says to us: “Beware! There are ways of fulfilling the law that do not make us righteous, good… He says this to his first disciples and to us, are we righteous, good, and holy when we fulfill the law, the commandments, the precepts of the Church?
If we live deeply in the Word of God, if its Law penetrates directly into our heart, what we think, say, or do will be sincere, authentic, profound. It will be an expression of love, forgiveness, and understanding towards our brothers and sisters, and only then will living the commandments, the Law, bring us closer to God and make us happy. Because, as the Gospel says, that is fulfilling the Law.
Mª Guadalupe Labrador Encinas, fmmdp
English version translated with AI