Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
The law is fulfilled by the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals the the lasting meaning of the moral law. This is the law which points the way to the goodness and life of God. Therefore we can leave the temporary ceremonies of rituals of the Jewish law in the past. But that is just one way the temptation to look at the law from a human and earthly point of view can ensnare us.
for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Because the Spirit is now here the moral commandments of the law can now give us life provided that we read them by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are indeed ordered to our eternal destiny. They prepare and enlarge our souls for the life of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
The law is not an abstract idea. Thinking of it that way is a reading that only looks at the letter of the law. The law is eminently personal. It is ordered to relationship. The LORD tells us to be holy as he is holy. Therefore, the law is a revelation about who God is and how we can grow to be more like him.
Holy is the Lord our God.
Without the Spirit, the letter of the law shows us only that this is completely beyond our ability. It reveals the holiness of God and our depravity as well. Now that God intervenes by sending his Spirit we see that we are entirely dependent on him. Those who proclaim this law must be like Paul and recognize that neither the origin nor the goal of the ministry has an earthly origin.
Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit
for anything as coming from us;
It starts with God.
our qualification comes from God,
It is directed toward the life he wants to pour out.
but the Spirit gives life.
It is so good that we don't have to rely on our own resources. We are so lost without the grace of God. But we do not want for grace! He stands always ready to pour this grace into our hearts. Let us praise him for his mercy and grace. Let us praise him at his holy mountain. It is not at a specific literal mountain on the earth, but at the spiritual Mount Zion which we approach at every Mass (cf. Heb 12:22).
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
Praised be the Spirit who lifts us up!
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