It is not hard to imagine how excited some people were when Jesus came along, preaching things never heard before. Change was in the air; perhaps there were those already starting to cease practicing certain traditions, and throwing aside certain aspects of the Law. I remember a priest sharing with me his memory of being a seminarian during the Second Vatican Council, and how draft copies of various documents were being circulated around. Rumors of massive changes—everything from a new Mass to the ordaining of women and married men—flew about, such that at one point he and a number of seminarians threw their birettas into the pond on campus. When the final documents of the Council were finally published, many of them were humbled, and perhaps even disappointed, having jumped the gun on a number of things. Imagine likewise how many in Jesus’ audience felt when He preached today’s Gospel, promising that nothing of the Law is being abolished or changed!
Yet, those who were truly listening might have been intrigued when He said that He came “…not to abolish but to fulfill.” What does this mean? It means the Law is not an end in and of itself: it is a means to a greater end. No doubt there were many eager to cast of aspects of the Law, especially anything required of the faithful that would raise the question, “Why do we have to do this? What is the point?” Jesus has come to show us, to reveal the mystery not only of the Law itself and its purpose, but what it sought to lead to: union with God. In Jesus we see that union in the flesh: God and Man as one. Within Jesus we see everything ordered as God has ordained.
But we also see the ultimate futility of the Law: no one but God Himself—in Christ—could possibly keep the Law fully. The Law is not, ultimately, a means of being saved but rather a means of showing humanity that only God is God, and we are not, and thus we not only need God but we need His mercy: hence even of old God declared, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” (Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13). The Law helps us to see sin, to realize we are sinners, and we will only find peace and healing by striving to love God and to do His will: Jesus fulfills the Law not only in teaching us how to live according to the will of God, to live as His children, but through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, through His Church and His Sacraments, He empowers us to live what He teaches. The Law remains, but now we understand its purpose; the Law remains, and now we have come to know its Giver.