Fulfilling or Failing?

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

1 Kgs 18: 20-39; Mt 5:17-19

Today’s Gospel clears the misunderstanding that Jesus came to abolish God’s law.

While Jesus confronts the misunderstanding, he reveals that his mission is not one of destruction but of fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, which refer to the entirety of the Old Testament.

Jesus’ exposition carefully navigates between fulfilling and failing God’s law. While failing God is not an option for Christians, fulfilling God’s law means not merely what we believe in but also how faithfully we embody God’s word. 

A little reflection on the word ‘fulfillment’ helps us discover that it means ‘to bring something to its intended goal.’ In other words, Jesus fulfills God’s law by revealing its deepest meaning.

Here we must understand that by fulfilling God’s law, Jesus does not just recommend settling for mere external conformity to it. Instead, he points to inner transformation, and that is why, unlike any religious leader of his time, Jesus insisted on repentance and conversion of hearts.

What is more, Jesus also holds those who attempt to break God’s law accountable. He calls them ‘least in the Kingdom of heaven.’ It is not only that he would fulfill God’s law but also that he would ensure others do the same. Thus, Jesus measures greatness by faithful adherence to God’s will.

Hence, if we are looking for how to fulfill God’s law or align our lives with God’s will, Jesus becomes the most competent guide and example as God’s law and God’s will find their completion in him. In this sense, Jesus’ life is the grammar of Christian life.

Thus, a disciple of Christ is called to integrate both faith and praxis. What we believe must be translated into action. We must live out what we profess convincingly. In this process, we must also resist, with God’s grace, the temptation to opt for selective discipleship or to reduce our faith to convenience.

Let us pray that we may allow God’s law to transform our lives.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar