HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY AFTER PENTECOST — YEAR A
HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY AFTER PENTECOST — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come … to fulfill.”
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. 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.”
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Most of the early Christians were converts from Judaism. It is, thus, understandable that they find it difficult to give up their Jewish traditions and practices. They need to be assured that Christianity is not a rejection of Judaism, but its natural and organic development. The New Testament builds on the foundation of the Old Testament. So, Jesus says that the Law is still to be observed. He clarifies this in the Gospel today: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come … to fulfill.”
The Old Testament contains many promises of God to His Chosen People. Jesus comes ‘to fulfill’ them. This should console the Jewish converts. However, The New Law does not mean simply the addition of new elements. Jesus fulfills the Old Law by improving on it – to complete it and to bring it to a higher level.
He seeks to provide the people with a way of looking at the Old Law in a new light. In other words, there is now a ‘paradigm shift’: from a culture of legalism – external observance of laws and precepts – to a way of life which gives attention to the spirit behind the laws, namely, the Law of Love. It is still the same Law, but a more improved version, seen in the new light of love.
People naturally resist change. There is fear of the unknown and thereby many opt for the status quo. Jesus is perfectly aware of this: “No one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good’” (Lk 5:39). But living in this world always involves change, simply because the material world is not static and permanent, and it needs constant adjustment and improvements. Hence, people have to adapt to change. A quotation often attributed to Charles Darwin says, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” St. John Henry Newman remarked, “To live is to change; to be perfect is to have changed often.”
It is true that the Word of God is eternal and immutable: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass.” But it is not static; it is dynamic. The Spirit of God is always moving, and renewing all creation. That is why we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” The whole creation is constantly being renewed by God. This is what God said in the vision of the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).
The Church is stable but not static. She always adapts to the changing environment, adequately responding to the ‘signs of the times’ in order, not only to effectively proclaim the message of salvation, but also to be faithful to God’s desire to ‘make all things new’. The doctrines and teachings of the Church do not change with the passage of time since these are based on the teachings of Christ. The Church has to faithfully proclaim these truths. However, since the world is constantly changing, she also needs to move forward creatively to new ways of understanding the faith and living it out. That is why the recurring catchword of the Second Vatican Council is ‘aggiornamento’ (‘bringing up to date’ or updating).
The Church, in order to play an active part in the mainstream of human history must, from time to time, and even continuously, make the necessary adaptations to its ever changing environment. This is what Pope Benedict XVI refers to as the ‘New Evangelization’: “You have before you the task of seeking new ways to announce Christ in situations of rapid and often profound transformation, and of emphasizing the missionary character of all pastoral activity.”
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