how many times have we heard some of our Christian brothers and sisters saying we do not need the Law in order to be saved; that we are saved only by grace or faith?  Let us ask: Is the Law really irrelevant in our Christian lives and for salvation?  The First Reading (Deut 4:1, 5-9) says, “Absolutely not!” Moses instructed the people to follow the commandment; that God’s Law makes us wiser than unbelievers in the world (cf. 1Cor 1:25-29) and that God’s Law gives us life.  Listen to his words, “Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me.”  Wow!

What an awesome privilege we have, that in the Gospel Passage (Matt 5:17-19), Jesus Himself – “my Lord and my God” John 20:28) – is the one speaking for Himself in this matter.  Listen to His words anew: “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 obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”  Wow!  It cannot be clearer; a total endorsement of Moses’ words in the First Reading.  Note, Christ never said, “I have come to abolish the Law.”  He never said, “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be THROWN AWAY” (cf. Luke 24:44).  Rather, “MUST BE FULFILLED.” 

How did Jesus fulfill the Law?  According to Aristotle, an ancient Greek Philosopher, “in any change, something is retained, something is lost and something is added.” To put it in Biblical Theology terms, for fulfillment to happen, there are areas of continuity, discontinuity and progression.  Many commandments of God in the Law of Moses and the prophets are still in place (cf. Matt 5:21, 27); a few were tossed out (cf. Matt 5:31-32, 33-38, 43) and some things were modified/added (cf. Matt 5:22, 28, 39-41, 44-48).  In this new dimension, Christ has brought us, not merely to a better understanding of the letters of the Law, but essentially into the Spirit of the Law; bringing out their deeper and profound meanings. For “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). 

On the whole, many Christians – especially evangelicals – are confused and unable to grasp St. Paul’s teaching on the Law properly (cf. Rom 11:6; 1Tim 1:9).  Misquoting St. Paul, they regularly say, “We are not saved by the Law!  We are not saved by the Law!”  But do they really understand what St. Paul stated?  When Saint Paul said, “By grace you are saved” (Eph 2:5, 8), where did he say we do not need the Law any longer?  The Law is still in place; however, to be saved under the Law, one must observe all the commandments flawlessly (cf. Isa 64:6; James 2:10).  Since we are unable to do so, we have no choice than to trust in the grace and mercy of God (cf. Rom 11:32).  That is one way we are saved by grace, not by our works of the Law, precisely because we are unable to keep the Law 100%.  Nevertheless, however insignificant our good work might be toward our salvation (on account of our imperfect observance), God requires it for our salvation (cf. Matt 7:24, 26; 25:34-45).  As St. Augustine stated, “The God who made you without you, will not save you without you.”  So, assisted by God’s grace (cf. John 15:5), let us continue to strive to fulfill the good deeds required of us through our Lenten discipline: prayer, fasting/abstinence and almsgiving.  May Christ grant us increase in understanding through Christ our Lord. Amen.