In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the heart of the Law and challenges his listeners’ assumptions about what faithfulness to God truly means. He makes it clear that he has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to bring them to fulfilment. This fulfilment is not a softening of God’s demands but, rather, their deepening. Jesus moves the focus from external observance to the inner dispositions of the human heart.
One of the striking features of Jesus’ teaching is his willingness to present an absolutely demanding ideal. Again and again he dismays his questioners by going further than they want. It is no longer enough to avoid murder; anger itself must be confronted. It is no longer enough to avoid adultery; lust and objectification are exposed as forms of unfaithfulness. Those who might have hoped for a manageable or comfortable righteousness are unsettled by Jesus’ insistence that God desires integrity, not loopholes.
Jesus’ teaching reaches its climax with the exhortation, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This perfection is not about flawlessness or moral pride, but about wholeness and completeness in love. God’s perfection is revealed in mercy, fidelity, and radical generosity, and Jesus invites his followers to reflect that same love in their relationships and choices.
Such teaching can feel overwhelming. Jesus sets a standard that exposes our limits and our tendency to settle for the minimum. Yet this is precisely the point. By presenting an ideal that goes beyond legal compliance, Jesus draws his listeners into a living relationship with God. The Law is fulfilled when it shapes hearts capable of forgiveness, reconciliation, and self-giving love. Rather than lowering the bar, Jesus raises it—so that, relying on God’s grace, we might grow into the fullness of life God desires for us.
Fr Stephen Berecz
