Prayer: Loving God and Father speak to me through
your word and teach me how to live as a faithful disciple of Jesus your Son
through the power of your indwelling Holy Spirit and for your glory. Amen
Matthew 5: 17-20
17 ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or
the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not
one letter, not one stroke of a
letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great
in the kingdom of heaven.20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
The
role of the disciples is as practitioners and teachers of the Law. Not a very familiar image of a disciple in
our day and age. You would be forgiven for thinking that due to the plethora of
diversity in theologies that the role of the disciple is to enter the supermarket
of desirable life enhancing discipleship products and choose the one or indeed
selection that personally fits you and your now enhanced and more fulfilling
lifestyle. However this is not what
Jesus teaches: Jesus is the fulfilment of the ‘Law and the Prophets’ and He
calls us to practice this same fulfilment. This practice is the onset of
justice and the practice of peace. It is different from the justice of the
Pharisees, the religiously and ritually pure. The justice of Jesus is about
ethical practice not ritual purity. Jesus is condemned for being good news for
the ritually unclean, outcast and the publican and sinner. Jesus practiced
social inclusion as fulfilment of the Law and Prophets and as the vehicle for
teaching the Law and Prophets. Jesus taught through His words and His deeds. We
must do the same. Jesus taught the Law and the Prophets we must teach the same
Law and Prophets through accepting Jesus authority as inaugurator of the
Kingdom. The Law and the Prophets mean what Jesus and His life says it means. Ritual purity does not get us into the
Kingdom of God: there are many ways, philosophies and so on to be ritually
pure; the Pharisees practiced one of them to perfection. The acceptance and
application of Jesus teachings is the only way to enter into the participative
Kingdom of the Law and the Prophets inaugurated by Jesus the fulfilment of the
promise of God as revealed in scripture. What do you and I teach in our lives;
I mean ordinary lives in our family, workplace and street where we live? If we
teach any other Law and Prophecy other than that fulfilled by Jesus we give up
on the potential to be the people and community God has created us to be. Our
daily disciple’s prayer is simple but to the point.
Prayer: Loving God and Father speak to me through
your word and teach me how to live as a faithful disciple of Jesus your Son
through the power of your indwelling Holy Spirit and for your glory. Amen
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