Today is the third of three days reflecting on the daily gospels all taken from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. They are not merely three disconnected sections of the Sermon on the Mount; they describe a progression in Christian discipleship:

Monday, the question was: Who is God shaping me to become? Yesterday we asked: what effect does that transformed life have on others? The answer is simple: a life formed by the Beatitudes becomes salt for and light that changes the world. Over the last two days, Jesus has shown us the shape of the Christian life and its mission. Today he reveals its foundation: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”

At first glance, this may seem like a change of subject. But it answers an important question. Why should we live according to the Beatitudes? Why should we strive to be salt and light? Why not simply follow our own preferences, the latest trends, or whatever the culture happens to value at the moment? That’s modern life, not Christian life. Jesus tells us that the Christian life is rooted in God’s eternal plan.

The Law and the Prophets were not mistakes to be discarded. Together they describe what it means to be a covenant people – and they were preparing the way for Jesus, the one who would fulfill all that the Law and Prophets required. In Jesus, God’s purpose for humanity reaches its fulfillment – true sons and daughters of God. The Beatitudes are not simply beautiful ideals, they are the Wisdom of God to invite us into participation in God’s work. The Christian life is not self-invention or some vague moral life. We are not creating our own morality or choosing values that happen to feel attractive.

If we are swayed by public opinion, social trends, or personal preference, then we are but a thermometer simply reflecting the temperature in the room. The Christian life is to be on mission for Christ. The mission is founded on Christ himself. Things in the world change; they come, they go. But Christ remains. The disciple who builds on Christ discovers a foundation that can withstand uncertainty, suffering, and change.

Jesus fulfills the Law by revealing its deepest purpose. He reveals the meaning of the law – not a life regulated by do’s and don’t’s but a life ordered toward love of God and neighbor.

Over these three days, Jesus has led us on a journey. First, he showed us the shape of the Christian life: the Beatitudes. Then he showed us its mission: to be salt and light. Today he reveals its foundation: God’s saving plan fulfilled in Christ.

The challenge before us is simple.  Let Christ shape our hearts. Let our lives become light for others. And let us build everything upon the One who came not to abolish, but to fulfill the deepest desire of God – that all be saved.

Amen.

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Image credit: Sermon on the Mount (1877) by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle, Public Domain