REFLECTIONS TODAY

Whenever God conveyed a message to the Israelites, such message began with the word “Hear” or “Listen” (Shema), as is the case in our First Reading. This means that the first responsibility of the Israelites was to listen and understand the Lord’s words or commands. By listening with the “ears of the heart,” they were able to discern and practice God’s words in their lives.

Jesus asks the same of his listeners. He did not come to counteract God’s commandments given through Moses. In fact, he gives them a deeper meaning—the true spirit of the Law—which surpasses the interpretations of the scribes and the Pharisees who make obedience to the Law a burden hard to carry, instead of treating it as a privilege given to Israel and not to other nations.

Oftentimes, we complain before we listen. We complain that God is not listening to us, but we ourselves are the ones who actually do not listen. The same happens in our relationships with people: judgment comes first before we listen to each other’s narrative, to each other’s story. Thus, it is true that persons who know how to listen to God and his neighbor are the ones who have true humility. Listening is the key toward following wholeheartedly God’s commands.

First Reading • Dt 4:1, 5-9

Moses spoke to the people and said: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’ For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Gospel • Mt 5:17-19

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. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.