Which Law?

Gospel: Matthew 5: 17-19

Jesus could not be more clear: not a single bit of the Jewish law is to be done away with until the end of time.  And yet, not very long after Jesus passes from this earth we find most of the Jewish law abolished by his followers - no more dietary laws, no more circumcision, no more laws on attire.   They will declare that only the moral law of the ancient Jewish code is to be followed; the rest is now done away with.  That too will find changes and creative interpretations over time as well...

These are pressing problems for those who claim an eternal and unfixed moral law in the universe that cannot ever be changed by humans.  But one can still hold to an eternal law and just admit the fact that we human beings are ever discovering its true meaning, that the finite human mind cannot grasp the eternal and infinite in its fullness, that like the physical laws of the universe we come also to discover the true content and meaning of the moral law over time as well.  

Such a posture of humility is not in keeping with our human penchant for hubris or our ecclesiastical posture of triumphalism.  Yet that is the reality of the human condition both individual and collective.  We are pilgrims on a journey, ever learning and ever coming to understand more in our quest for sanctity and imitation of the Lord Jesus in deeds of love and mercy in the world.