The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to attend to both the Law and the prompting of the Spirit on our journey as disciples of Christ.
In the reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses commands Obedience.
Psalm 147 offers praise for God’s Care for Jerusalem.
* [Psalm 147] The hymn is divided into three sections by the calls to praise in Ps 147:1, 7, 12. The first section praises the powerful creator who restores exiled Judah (Ps 147:1–6); the second section, the creator who provides food to animals and human beings; the third and climactic section exhorts the holy city to recognize it has been re-created and made the place of disclosure for God’s word, a word as life-giving as water. (Psalms, PSALM 147 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew teaches about the Law and the Prophets.
* [5:17–20] This statement of Jesus’ position concerning the Mosaic law is composed of traditional material from Matthew’s sermon documentation (see note on Mt 5:1–7:29), other Q material (cf. Mt 18; Lk 16:17), and the evangelist’s own editorial touches. To fulfill the law appears at first to mean a literal enforcement of the law in the least detail: until heaven and earth pass away nothing of the law will pass (Mt 5:18). Yet the “passing away” of heaven and earth is not necessarily the end of the world understood, as in much apocalyptic literature, as the dissolution of the existing universe. The “turning of the ages” comes with the apocalyptic event of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and those to whom this gospel is addressed are living in the new and final age, prophesied by Isaiah as the time of “new heavens and a new earth” (Is 65:17; 66:22). Meanwhile, during Jesus’ ministry when the kingdom is already breaking in, his mission remains within the framework of the law, though with significant anticipation of the age to come, as the following antitheses (Mt 5:21–48) show.
* [5:19] Probably these commandments means those of the Mosaic law. But this is an interim ethic “until heaven and earth pass away.” (Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)
Joan Blandin Howard comments that while the light of the bombastic directives of the Pharisees and the scribes is harsh and burning. Hard to warm up to. The Beatitudes are the fulfillment of the law.
What is this saying to me, to us. Possibly, we are being invited to move closer, to sit near and to follow this soft warming glow of these folks. Possibly, we are encouraged to move close enough to touch a mourning stranger, to stand with and encourage the peacemaker and the meek. To soothe and care for the persecuted. Of all the senses, I think that touch is the most consoling. We were all born skin hungry. At birth we reach for the warmth, comfort and nourishment of our mother’s breasts. Toddlers and children yearn for the hug and sweet kisses of loved ones. Teenagers, especially teenage girls – hug each other all the time! When schools reopened after the COVID year, school corridors were full of joyful giggling and hugging as friends reunited. A glorious, sacred reuniting to behold. All of us live out our days yearning for the touch of someone – family, stranger or friend. We will diminish and die longing to hold a hand, to be held in the arms of another– until we are held in Jesus’ arms. (Blandin Howard, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Making daily progress towards God,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not ones who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from the commandments, something from examples, and something from Sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for our studies." (excerpt from Sermon 16A,1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9 comments that remembering also helps us to see who we are: children of God. It shows us that we are beloved. We understand that we are his adopted children, his very own possession. And we see that in Baptism, we have become members of his own body, the Church.
In prayer today, ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of the many ways God has moved in your life and the lives of your loved ones. Let him remind you of who he is and who you are. And let your remembering fill you with joy!
“Lord God, help me to recall your goodness and your great works!” (Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the great gift of the Law presented by Moses to an ancient people who may have lived in terror of the consequences of not knowing what laws of God they may be breaking. There is a contrast between the view of the Law in the very Jewish Gospel of Matthew and the mission to the Gentiles of Paul. Friar Jude notes the influence of the growth of the Church among Gentiles on our understanding of Law.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Howard Thurman (1899–1981) who offers instructions for practicing stillness and silent meditation.
One is engaged in doing nothing at all except being still. At first one may get drowsy and actually go to sleep. The time will come, however, when one may be quiet for a spell without drowsiness, but with a quality of creative lassitude that makes for renewal of mind and body. Such periods may be snatched from the greedy demands of one’s day’s work; they may be islanded in a sea of other human beings; they may come only at the end of the day, or in the quiet hush of the early morning. We must, each one of us, find [our] own time and develop [our] own peculiar art of being quiet. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the role of law and tradition in building our wisdom, understanding, and directing our decisions about truth, love, and mercy.
References
Blandin Howard, J. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/032625.html
Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/4?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/5?17
Meditation on Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/26/1234991/
Psalms, PSALM 147 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/147?12
Rohr, R. (n.d.). The Power of Stillness. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-power-of-stillness/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Whoever Relaxes One of the Commandments. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved March 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar26
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