Wednesday June 11, 2025

Matthew 5:17-19

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 wonder what would give them that impression? Maybe it was seeing Our Lord touch the unclean peoples when the law itself was clear that those people shall be avoided. Maybe it was being friend to those who were headed to hell in a hand basket. He just seemed to be taking liberties with what was clear cut.

Do you know that mama was the most difficult person to learn cooking from? She never had a book!!! It was a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Her experience freed her from the recipe book. I on the other hand have tons of cooking books. Well frankly I don’t use them anymore but there was a time I could not boil water without looking it up. Experience freed me.

I think there is a time in all our lives when we keep to the script. In fact there are fundamentals that we ought to keep. Our Lord invites us also to use our God given common sense. Here is a beautiful truth: if your religion makes you less human it may be time to look at it again. There was a time when priests could not go to the funeral of someone who committed suicide. That person would not even be allowed in church. But is the funeral for the dead or the living? At a time when they needed the church to hug them we closed our arms. Thank goodness that has changed.