Wednesday 12 June 2024

Today is Wednesday the 12th of June, in the 10th week of Ordinary Time.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings Ngaza Ngambona:
‘They are blessed who keep his commandments; they will have their eternal place.
Come in, all of you, so that you may be happy and be able to say,
I’ve seen him on the cross, the one who loves me.
Teach me, Father, to love you, praise you and pray to you.’

(Lyrics currently unavailable)

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 5:17-19


‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For 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. Therefore, 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.

Certain laws seem to be inscribed in the human heart, laws of justice and fairness. When we encounter these there is a sense of rightness about it. What are the laws inscribed in your heart? What are the fundamental principles that you think are true and will always be true?

Can you think of some situation in the last day or so that demanded some kind of response from you, where you had to make a decision about how to respond? How did you respond at the time? And can you ask yourself now, ‘what is the law – perhaps an unwritten law in my heart – that caused me to respond in this way?’

As you listen to the gospel again, be aware that when Jesus talks of the law, this is not some alien, arbitrary code he is talking about, but the law that comes from the heart of God.

Is there an area of your life where you’re not sure what the right thing to do is? – what the ‘law of God’s love’ is asking of you? You might like to talk to God about this now.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.