During these weeks of Ordinary Time, Year A, we focus our attention on the Gospel of Matthew. For the past five Sundays we have heard some of the most challenging preaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God. His words are not casual suggestions; they are demanding invitations. Each Sunday, I find myself both comforted and unsettled—comforted because He shows us the way to life, unsettled because I realize how far I still have to go.
The readings this Sunday call us to think more deeply about the choices we are making. Christ’s words are not meant simply to be admired; they are meant to change us and make us wise. I have noticed in my own life how easy it is to hear Scripture and move on unchanged. Yet whenever I truly pause and take His words seriously, something shifts within me. They begin to challenge my habits, my reactions, even my hidden motives.
We should take heart from the first reading and the wisdom of the Book of Sirach: “If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live… Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”
Those words remind me that discipleship is not forced upon us. God respects our freedom. Every day, often in small and unnoticed moments, I stand before that choice—life or death, good or evil. Sometimes the choice is dramatic; often it is quiet, like choosing patience instead of anger, forgiveness instead of resentment, honesty instead of convenience.
In the Gospel reading from St. Matthew, Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” As we listen to Him more profoundly, our minds are opened with wisdom to understand what He means.
First, Jesus Christ was reminding us of what John the Baptist proclaimed when he called people to repentance. In this way, Jesus echoes that call to conversion. Conversion simply means living by a higher standard than what we may have grown used to. It is not comfortable. It asks more of us. Even though this preaching began 2,000 years ago, that voice still reverberates today. I feel it personally whenever I am tempted to settle for the minimum—just enough goodness to feel safe. Christ always calls me further.
I believe this reminder serves as a powerful and provocative prelude to Lent. It offers a lesson in what is expected of us as disciples. Jesus maps out the road we need to travel, and it is not the wide and easy road, but the narrow path that leads to life.
Second, when Matthew speaks of “the Law and the Prophets,” he means the whole of Scripture. Jesus Christ, the living Word, brings the fullness of the Kingdom. None of Scripture is rejected or done away with; instead, He fulfills it. He does not overturn the Law of Moses, nor does He set His followers free from responsibility. Rather, He requires His followers to go beyond the Law by doing more than the Law requires.
Third, as we read in the Gospel, the Law condemns murder; Jesus condemns anger. The Law condemns adultery; Jesus condemns even lustful looks. For the Jewish Christians who first heard Matthew’s Gospel, this meant understanding that fidelity to the Law required accepting Jesus, who came to establish God’s Kingdom in its fullness.
We too must be aware that God has always been at work in history through “the Law and the Prophets.” Yet God’s work goes beyond that, embodied in the Messiah who reveals the definitive will of God. The written Scriptures and their interpretation in tradition find their fullness in Jesus, who lived among us. His life and teaching are the definitive revelation of God’s will.
It is more than just hearing or reading the Bible; it demands concrete and rigorous action. I have learned that it is easier to avoid serious wrongdoing than to purify my heart. It is easier to say, “I have not broken the commandment,” than to confront the anger, pride, or selfishness that quietly lingers within. Jesus calls me and all of us to that deeper honesty.
Get ready. Lent is almost here. In just a few days, it will be Ash Wednesday. After hearing Christ’s admonitions today, with His words still ringing in our ears and burning in our hearts, we will line up to have our foreheads marked with ashes. We will remember that we are dust. We will abstain from meat on Fridays. We will embrace Lenten discipline and penance to prepare to journey with Him to Calvary for the renewal of our lives.
It can be a time of choosing and of change. Each Lent I ask myself: What will I choose this year? Life or comfort? Growth or routine? Conversion or complacency?
May we choose wisely.
May we choose life.
May God bless us always.
Fr. Arlon, OSA
