Great in the kingdom of heaven

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Benedictus Antiphon- 'Confessor Dei Pretiose Columba'

The Monks of Pluscarden Abbey

Today is Wednesday the 10th of June, in the 10th week of Ordinary Time.

The monks of Pluscarden Abbey sing the Benedictus: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has visited his people and redeemed them. He has raised up for us a mighty saviour in the house of David his servant, as he promised by the lips of holy men, those who were his prophets from of old. A saviour who would free us from our foes, from the hands of all who hate us. So his love for our ancestors is fulfilled and his holy covenant remembered. He swore to Abraham our father to grant us, that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes, we might serve him in holiness and justice all the days of our life in his presence.”

4:04

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 5:17-19

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

5:18

engraced

formless cascade, reanne, We Dream of Eden

Jesus insists that he has come not to abolish but to fulfil. He comes to bring to completion what God has always been working towards in human history, embedded in the Covenant and the richness of prophetic tradition. What part of that tradition have you most lived and taught by your life?

Over the coming days in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus will take the law and deepen it, moving from external compliance to interior transformation. He is interested not so much in what we do as in who we are becoming. As you think about your own life of faith, where do you feel God inviting you to move beyond outward observance to something deeper?

Listen again to these words of Jesus about the law and the prophets being fulfilled. Notice what stirs in you – perhaps reassurance, perhaps challenge, perhaps questions. Allow whatever arises to be part of your prayer.

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Matthew 5:17-19

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

9:40

Jesus speaks of those who do and teach his commandments as great in the kingdom of heaven. He is calling us to integrity – a life in which our actions and our words reflect one another. Take time now to speak to God about where you feel that integrity most and least in your own life.

11:55

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen