＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws

Which I teach that you may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take possession of the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you.  See, as Yahweh, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are going to enter and have as your own.

 If you observe and practice them, other peo­ples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come to know of all these laws, they will say, “There is no people as wise and as intelligent as this great nation.”

 For in truth, is there a nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as Yahweh, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? And is there a nation as great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I give you today?

 But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget these things which your own eyes have seen nor let them depart from your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to your children and to your children’s children.

 

Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Matthew 5:17-19

 Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

 So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The freedom and ease that Jesus demonstrated in front of the laws of the ancestors does not mean negation of their values or diminishment of their importance. He wants to unleash the full force of the law that is geared towards the good of humanity.

Thus His critique had it wrong all along. When He defended His disciples for not fasting, or washing their hands when they eat, or when they harvest grain and eat them during the day of Sabbath, He was not depreciating the value of the law.

He enhanced its understanding by pointing out the liberating and joyful following of the law not based on narrow and strict implementation of its letters. Thus He did not come to abolish but to fulfill the law. it’s a fulfillment based on a proper understanding of the role of the law in enhancing the lives of believers.