The Law and the Prophets

We are Christians today because of the Scripture and Tradition passed on to us about God’s passionate love, our failure to respond to His love due to sin and Jesus’s passion and resurrection as an assurance of the Holy Trinity’s love, mercy and gift of salvation. The Apostles of Jesus and their successors have lived a great life in accordance to scripture, passing the traditions to the next generations through their actions and teachings.

In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus giving a warning to those who lead others astray by breaking the commandments and assures eternal blessings to those who will obey and teach it to others. So, let us see who are the teachers and who are the others who are going to be influenced.

Dear Family of faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, we are both the teachers and those who are influenced. I am a mother to three girls and also their first teacher. I was the first one to teach them how to hold their pencils and also to pray the Lord’s prayer. But there are times when the roles are reversed. There are times when I am not willing to let go of my will and my twin sister (Ego) plays a devious role in keeping me away from the truth of the situations, it is then that my daughters help me to rethink my actions and rectify them in the light of scripture.

Jesus’s life is the perfect example of obedience to God’s Law. The beatitudes are Jesus’ most referred and reflected teachings, the nucleus of all of Jesus’ Message. I believe that it holds great power as the word of God to guide and guard us. This is because Jesus lived every one of the beatitudes and set us an example to follow. The Apostles could live and die for Jesus because He showed them the way. In turn they did the same for their successors.

You, my dear family of believers, let us retrospect today. Have we learnt anything from our elders in faith? Have we committed ourselves to live a life that glorifies God in accordance to scripture? Have we been able to share our success and failures with others in humility and love, in order to bring them closer to God? Have we been a source or influence leading others away from God by our comments of Church, Bible and Jesus? Is there a link between what we say and what we do for others, to be motivated to follow the Lord’s path? Are we willing to be a student of the Holy Spirit in order to be a teacher on the behave of the Holy Trinity?

Let’s ask God’s mercy for the times we have failed and the strength to recommit our lives as students and lovers/teachers of God’s law and love.

Lord help me to live your law today and always so that I may teach others to follow you in love and obedience. Amen.