FULFILLMENT OF THE COMMANDMENTS

 Meditation for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37)

The readings of today underline the fact that the commandments of the Lord are guiding principles that save us from evil and lead to the good. By the very act with which we obey the commandments, we avoid evil and attain the good. That means at the cross road of life, where we are required to choose either good or evil, the commandments guide our will to act according to the will of God. However, in the presence of the two paths of life there is human free will, which is given the responsibility to choose either good or evil. The freedom to choose makes us culpable and responsible for our actions.

 

The prescriptions of the law strengthen our free will to act according to God’s plan for us. The first reading says, “Before a man are life and death, good and evil, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.” Ordinarily, one would expect that fear of death will make man choose life. However, the wisdom of Sirach maintains that it is the knowledge of the great wisdom of God, His mighty power, and His overshadowing presence that ought to incline our free will to obey the Lord’s commandments. “The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, and He knows every deed of man.”

 

If keeping the commandments is a way we acknowledge God’s wisdom and power, and align our free will to His holy Will, it implies that the commandments put us in a relationship with God. Thus, we express this relationship by obeying the commandments. In this way, the hidden wisdom of God comes alive in us, and His plans and purposes begin to unfold through our actions. This great wisdom of God remains hidden from those who do not keep the commandments. The second reading says, “None of the rulers of this age understood this; if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Thus, in Jesus is revealed the perfect fulfilment of God’s will, and the manifestation of His divine glory.

 

Let us meditate on how the cross of Jesus has become our true guide when we come to the cross road of life. Jesus explains in the gospel that He came to fulfill the law. He speaks ‘from Himself’ as the true authority that directs our free will to the perfect fulfilment of the commandments. Jesus leads us to have a righteousness that exceeds wordily standards, and which can lead us to enter the kingdom of heaven. In Jesus, the commandments of the Lord go beyond the ‘rule of life’ to ‘the way to eternal life.’ This new horizon of the law or new standard of living becomes our way of living out the righteousness of Jesus in our daily choices and actions. This new standard ensures that every iota of the law is accomplished.

 

To accomplish the ultimate purpose of the law is eternal life. That means the hope that inspires us to embrace the commandments is greater than the precepts. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” For the human free will to respond to this hope that is beyond human comprehension, we look up to Jesus, in whose righteousness we share. And by living out His righteousness, we fulfill every iota of the law. This can be efficient and effective if with our free will we begin to make friends with Jesus. If we freely align our free will with Jesus in faith, it becomes easy for us to walk freely in the pathway of life and goodness. As we live out the righteousness of Jesus, the blessings of the kingdom of heaven shall be the footprints we leave behind, and eternal life shall be our destination. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.

Sunday 12^th February, 2023

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