Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
As Christians we focus on the new commandments that Jesus gave us.
- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
And they are the foundation of our faith. If we did nothing more than follow these to the letter with the Spirit to guide us we would do well.
But many times, the Ten Commandments given by Moses to our spiritual ancestors are set aside and placed in a less significant place in our hearts. As if they were not as important. We can then be easily led astray for example, if we in following the two commandments of Jesus find ourselves choosing something or doing something that does not adhere to the Ten Commandments.
For Jesus commandments are the underlying principles the Ten Commandments are based on.
One set does not exclude the other but are the same. One tells us the spirit of the law and the other breaks it down into what that actually looks like. For example, if we take the first commandment, “you shall have no other gods before me.” It is built into, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”
Jesus emphasizes this relationship between the law given by Moses and the commandments of Jesus. They do not exclude each other. In fact, Jesus makes the point that not one word or letter can be set aside.
And then he stresses the importance to teach the truths of the commandments. Echoing Moses who told the Israelites to teach their children and their children’s children.
Lent is a good time to take stock and ask, have I loved as Jesus taught us? And using the Ten Commandments as a checklist do all my actions adhere to his law?
Have I taught this to others who need to learn it?
That’s the assignment.
Go with God as your guide and live with God always beside you.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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