GOSPEL POWER | JUNE 9, 2021 - WEDNESDAY | Saint Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church / 10th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mt 5: 17 – 19

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Reflection

The heart of the law is love, for it is linked with God’s  covenant with Israel, God’s relationship-of-love with  his people. The law shows Israel the way of fidelity to their  covenant-partner. Its purpose is to mold their hearts, not in slavish  compliance, but in loving obedience, so that they may become  effective instruments in the fulfillment of God’s loving plan for the  whole creation. It is to this faithful and obedient life that the prophets  always directed Israel, but from which they kept wandering away. The  prophets, therefore, began to speak of a time when the law would be  perfectly obeyed and would be written no longer on stone tablets but  in human hearts. This is precisely the fulfillment that Jesus declares in  today’s Gospel. As representative of Israel, Jesus will offer the perfect  and loving obedience that will renew the covenant and extend it to all  peoples

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help us to be attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit,  which is now the interior law that calls to loving obedience. Amen