First reading 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
The new covenant is a covenant of the Spirit
Before God, we are confident of this through Christ: not that we are qualified in ourselves to claim anything as our own work: all our qualifications come from God. He is the one who has given us the qualifications to be the administrators of this new covenant, which is not a covenant of written letters but of the Spirit: the written letters bring death, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the administering of death, in the written letters engraved on stones, was accompanied by such a brightness that the Israelites could not bear looking at the face of Moses, though it was a brightness that faded, then how much greater will be the brightness that surrounds the administering of the Spirit! For if there was any splendour in administering condemnation, there must be very much greater splendour in administering justification. In fact, compared with this greater splendour, the thing that used to have such splendour now seems to have none; and if what was so temporary had any splendour, there must be much more in what is going to last for ever.
Responsorial Psalm 98(99):5-9
You are holy, O Lord our God.
Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before Zion, his footstool.
He the Lord is holy.
Among his priests were Aaron and Moses,
among those who invoked his name was Samuel.
They invoked the Lord and he answered.
To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud.
They did his will; they kept the law,
which he, the Lord, had given.
O Lord our God, you answered them.
For them you were a God who forgives;
yet you punished all their offences.
Exalt the Lord our God;
bow down before his holy mountain
for the Lord our God is holy.
Gospel Matthew 5:17-19
I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’
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Love is the commandment
Jesus did not come to abolish the Jewish law or the teachings of the Prophet. Instead, He precisely came to complete them by focusing everything on the commandment of love. One expert of the law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus told him “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37-40).
Looking at Jesus’ life, words and actions, we grasp the full meaning of what it means to love. Today, we are invited once again to enter into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus. In this friendship with Jesus, we learn from Him how to love God and the people in our lives. May we, through our words, decisions and actions, make love a reality.
Reflective question:
How can I live this day striving to love as Jesus?
How can I live this day striving to love as Jesus?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
