Wednesday, March 2, 2016

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Lent

What does it mean that the Matthean Jesus will fulfill the law and the prophets?  Were there folks around worried about the Law being abolished? 

Calling to mind the critique of the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus makes in Matthew*…heavy burdens, messed up understanding of the role of the Temple, preoccupation with who is in and who is out of the Kingdom, importance of tithing over justice…I hear this passage as a reclaiming of the heart of the law.

The lines before this pericope are those about salt and light.  They are about the embodiment of the heart of the matter.  What gives off light in such a way that others are drawn toward justice, mercy and faith?  Perhaps this fulfillment is like a chemical reaction giving off light and heat.  Nothing is abolished.  It is rather transformed.  And it can be seen.


A heart that is in love with God is the end, the purpose, the fulfillment of the law.  To embody that kind of heart is to be contagious…very contagious.

*chapter 23

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