THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, Third week in Lent
March 26, 2025 - Deuteronomy 4: 1,5-9; Matthew 5: 17-19
I have not come to abolish the Law, but to complete them, to fulfill them, to take them towards the fullness and fruitfulness. Speaking of hope, we know it means that at the end of all that may go well or on the contrary, the Lord's will shall be done, and God's will is always for my welfare! This is hope and the space for God's will within it is non negligible. One of the ways in which this aspect of hope as God's design for us, comes to the fore in the reality of the commandments.
The commandments which become the fundamentals of our ethical living and Christian mores, is a crucial part of the scaffolding that keeps our hope intact. It refers to a simple conviction that the Lord has already thought through what is good for us and lets us know by the commandments - as to what to do and what to avoid. Hence following the Law, is the source of hope, peace and serenity. However, not all that appears to be obeying the law is unequivocally wholesome! Being legalistic can at times take us towards self righteousness more than sanctity. Jesus is aware of it, and that is why he reorients our attentions towards the fulfillment of the laws - that come from the fruitfulness of our choices.
Obedience, as we spoke about it just yesterday, cannot be just doing something because it has to be done. Where is the human choice and freedom involved in such an action or such a decision? Obedience of Faith is much more: knowing the will of God, embracing it with love and carrying it out in life with purpose. That is the way that obedience can become fruitful. Returning to hope is all about choosing this obedience to the commandments, which are but God's will made easy. Beginning today, we shall be led to a deeper understanding of what obedience to God's will is - first and foremost, it leads to me to a sense of fulfillment, a sense of meaning and a sense of hope. You Words O Lord, are spirit, they are life.