When he was at table with them, he took the bread. He blessed the bread, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him!(Luke 24:13-35)

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Reflecting the Glory of God through obedience

 


Christ said that He didn’t come “to abolish the law or the prophets.”  (Matthew 5:17-19)

The law and the prophets, as found in the Old Testament, consists of three types.  First, there are the moral laws, such as the Ten Commandments, that are primarily based on the natural law of God.  By “natural law,” we mean that our human reason can understand their truthfulness, such as with “Thou shall not kill, steal,” etc.  Second, there were many liturgical precepts that were laid down and practiced as a preparation for and prefiguration of their ultimate liturgical fulfillment.  The fulfillment is now found in the sacramental life of the Church.  Third, there were various legal precepts that gave specific directions on daily living.  These laws include instructions on food, relations with others, how to treat foreigners, cleansings, purifications of utensils, tithing, and much more.

In these three verses I reflected on today, Jesus essentially says two things.  First, regarding the legal and liturgical precepts, He says that He came to “fulfill” them.  Thus, Christians are no longer bound by these Old Testament legal and liturgical laws, in that we’re now called to a much higher fulfillment of them all.  But as for the moral laws, especially those found in the Ten Commandments, not a single precept taught is abolished.  Instead, these Commandments are deepened, and the call to moral perfection is now much clearer.  It’s for this reason that Jesus goes on to say, “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.”

I’ve realized that over time my goal in life has become to serve God and others.  This can only be accomplished through responding to the truth of God and Christian love towards others.  The commandments for me, are not a set of negative rules, but a set of truths that I attempt to live by.  A few decades ago, I made a commitment to my faith and began to walk deliberately with the Lord.  Through that time I’ve found that when living by the commandments, my relationship with God and others just seems to go better.  Luckily for me Christ came to fulfill the law and I’m only here to do the best I can.  Only with His grace and my response to that grace is it possible to “abound in righteousness and glory.”  (2 Corinthians 3:4-11).  The journey so far has been fun and filled with unexpected turns.  I can only hope that more is yet to come.

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