Scripture: Second Wed. of liturgical week. II Cor.3:4-11. Psalm 99:6.7.8.9.
Matthew 5:17-19. Lectionary # 360:

Jesus continues his sermon on the mount and is telling us that he has
come to fulfill the Torah. By that he means what we often call the Old
Testament which includes the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (TANACH)
or the Hebrew Bible. He will not remove any of its prescriptions nor
change even an "iota" of it. The iota is the smallest letter in the Hebrew
script--an infinitesmal one in the context of what Jesus is saying. Such is
his respect for the Mosaic law and the covenant. After all, that is his
"bible" and the inspired words of God through his faithful ones and the
prophets. Jesus will tell the Samaritan woman that "salvation is from the
Jews." His name actually means salvation (Yeshua') and he is one hundred
percent Jewish.
We, of course, reread the Hebrew Scriptures in the light of what we
know about Jesus from the New Testament. The writers of the New Testament
had as their primary written source the Hebrew Scriptures and used them
profusely. The earliest church theologians insisted on keeping them
together with the New Tesatment as the inspired words of God for us and
that we should never leave them out of our reflections and prayers. In
fact, what would the Church's prayer be without the Psalms?
As adults we need to remove any of the myths we heard from our
teachers or even grandparents or parents about the Old Testament being the
words of an angry or judging God. It shows us they never read them with
the spirit of faith and an open and listening heart. Almost ninety-percent
of the thoughts in the New Testament have their origin in them. One
author claims that there are allusions up to 400 references in the Book of
Revelation (the Apocalypse) that come from the Tanach. The God of both
testaments is the same, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Adonai for
our brothers and sisters who are Jews.
God's word is alive. The Epistle to the Hebrews sums up what the word
of God is in the Hebrew Bible:
"Indeed, God's word is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged
sword. It penetrates and divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the reflections and thoughts of the heart. Nothing is concealed from
him; all lies bare and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an
account." ( Hebrews 4:12-13). Amen.