March 30, Lenten Wed. Lectionary 240

Scripture: Lectionar 240: Deuteronomy 4:1.5-9. Psalm 147:12-13.15-16.19-20.
Matthew 5:17-19:

Naturally our Gospels focus on Jesus and make him greater than the angels,
the saints, and the patriarchs and prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. Today
we return again to the Sermon on the Mount that certainly fits the season
of Lent in a very practical way. Jesus is a superb teacher-- a new Moses
in Matthew's perception, and a servant Messiah who really does much more
than a royal messiah could imagine. Salvation is no easy victory even for
Jesus, the Word made flesh. Jesus is here to tell us he fulfills not
destroys. He builds, he does not tear down. As the Word of God he makes
God's words his own whether they come from Deuteronomy or from Matthew!
His teaches goes to the heart of the Scriptures and his own words are the
stuff of which a New Testament comes into existence. This is befitting one
who is called in John's Gospel, the Word become flesh and living among us.

The Torah is to be fulfilled with the fulness of its message; the heart of
the message is doing the will of God and enjoying it. We hear a lot of
people saying, "How do I know the will of God?" Just take your Bible and
read what God says to you in a whole library of books that have been
translated into almost every language used.

The text from Deuteronomy spells out the same message that Jesus is
teaching for it is the word of God. It tells us, "Observe them (the
precepts, the statutes, the commandments) carefully, for thus you will give
evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations." We are to teach
them to our children whether those in the family or those in the classroom.

Psalm 147 prays both the message of Moses and that of Jesus. W