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.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.
This reading always used to bother me, because I thought that it meant that God was changing His mind, which is impossible! I used to think that this passage was proof of God replacing divine law in the bible (eg eye-for-eye), with new law (turn the other cheek). But I now know that it is not replaced, but is fulfilled.
The law of “an eye for eye” was a ground breaking law in the history of this world. It brought justice into the world for the lowliest and most persecuted, and made visible the most invisible people in the world. The “turn the other cheek” is an law for how the individual is supposed to deal with other people that hurt and persecute them individually. One is societal and the other is personal.
But even beyond that difference there is another big difference, and that is the evolution of our consciences. When you start to see souls, as humans, then it quickly becomes apparent that you cannot treat them like animals or trash, and so when society is finally changed by the first law, then it is ultimately ready to be confronted by the second law. This is the natural progression of building conscience and fulfilling God’s law of love.
The final stage of this progression is the kingdom of Heaven. The law there is love God, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. For most of the world this is not possible yet. We can barely deal with the “turn the other cheeek” law. But that is not how it will be in Heaven. In Heaven, the law will be love, and we will be called to love each other as we love ourselves, and how we love God. It seems impossible in the here and now, but it is what we will be called to do when we get there.
So we need to start practicing now, and with all of those people that the Lord has put into our lives. And even if we cannot complete it here and now, we need to at least try so that Jesus can then perfect it in us completely, in Heaven. This is fullfillment of the law, and it is beautiful when you finally understand it.
Oh Lord, thank you for loving us enough, and being patient enough, to teach us how to love you, and each other. We are not worthy of such great love, but we are so grateful.
