Category: fulfilling the Law

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Fulfilling the Law

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A): Matthew 5:17-37

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” – Matthew 5:17

Calling something – or, God forbid, someone – old is never a compliment. In our society, with constant technological improvements, we have come to assume that the new is better than the old. In our ads which glorify youth (because young people are more vulnerable to advertising as a rule), we have come to assume that being or looking young is better than being or looking old. Therefore, when we look at the Bible, we will instinctively prefer the “New” Testament over the “Old”, and view the “Old” as somehow obsolete. It’s as though, in computer lingo, the Old Testament was the beta version of the Bible, and the New Testament the official release.  Continue reading “Fulfilling the Law”

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Boundaries

Sixth Sunday of Easter (B)   Acts 10:25-48

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall. – Robert Frost

Boundaries.

Every living thing, from the simplest one-cell amoeba to the complex organisms that we call our bodies, needs boundaries. The boundary separates what is included in the living thing from what is outside it. This boundary needs to be strong enough to enable the living thing to exist as a separate being, but not so strong that it keeps the living thing from interacting with the outside world.  Continue reading “Boundaries”

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Fulfilling, Not Abolishing

Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A): Matthew 5:17-37

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” – Matthew 5:17

Calling something – or, God forbid, someone – old is never a compliment. In our society, with constant technological improvements, we have come to assume that the new is better than the old. In our ads which glorify youth (because young people are more vulnerable to advertising as a rule), we have come to assume that being or looking young is better than being or looking old. Therefore, when we look at the Bible, we will instinctively prefer the “New” Testament over the “Old”, and view the “Old” as somehow obsolete. It’s as though, in computer lingo, the Old Testament was the beta version of the Bible, and the New Testament the official release.  Continue reading “Fulfilling, Not Abolishing”