DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
St. Matthew 5:14-19 Gospel for Holy
Hierarchs: Athanasios, Cyril, Basil, Gregory, et. al.(1/18)
Fulfilment: St. Matthew 5: 14-19, especially vs. 17: “Do
not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to
fulfill.” God is
extravagant, never wasteful, but unstintingly lavish, which both His creation
and saving works disclose. To speak
of His munificent design for the world, Orthodoxy employs the term “economia,” a word that draws the heart and mind
toward God’s rich generosity and His desire to complete, ennoble, and
uplift our lives - in the Lord’s own words, “to fulfill” us
(vs. 17).
The Lord
Jesus Christ is God’s fulfillment of and for mankind. In coming among us and joining Himself
to our race, our King and our God has forever dignified our flesh and revealed
the gracious “economia” of God. “For in Him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). He is the magnificent capstone of the
lavish, Divine plan for creation and history. How so?
First,
note that the Lord yokes His coming into the world to Scripture (vs. 17), in
this case to the Old Testament writings; for, in a preliminary way, they
contain the basic elements of God’s grand design for our
fulfillment. Speaking of the
Lord’s coming in the flesh, Blessed Theophylact
says, “...the painter does not destroy the sketch but rather completes
it.” Thus, by His
Incarnation, the Lord Jesus became the ultimate Expositor of Scripture, the
Finisher and the Goal of the Divine Plan - the Divine “economia”-
and the First Man to completely carry out the will of the Father on
behalf of all humankind - that others might also fulfill God’s will.
As the
great Expositor of Scripture, Christ reveals the essence of God’s written
word. “You have heard it said
to those of old...but I say to you...” (Mt. 5:21,22,27,28,
etc.): thus He leads beyond the formal keeping of the letter of the Law, and
takes us into the heart of God.
There we are allowed to “read” the Scriptures through the
eyes of the Almighty Himself. The
essence of these created words reveals the Uncreated Word, He Who inspired the
human authors of Scripture and Who reveals Himself as
their fulfillment.
For
instance, in His command not to murder, the Lord desires not only to restrain
our deadly impulse, but also to draw us toward our brother. Our surges of hatred and anger are
bedewed with grace (Mt. 5:22-26).
Speaking of the Commandments, the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the
Romans, says “...if there is any other commandment, [they] are all summed
up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ Love does no harm
to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (
In“action,” Christ fulfills the Divine “economia” as the Divine Finisher. The Old Testament cast the shadow of Him
Who would come, but the righteous only could ponder how the mystery of the
Messiah, “which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men...[would be] revealed” (Eph. 3:5). Sin and death have too long interrupted
and disfigured God’s design for mankind. Then when the Word became flesh, through
His suffering, dying, and rising in triumph over death, the pathway for the
restoration of humanity opened up plainly before us.
The Lord
Jesus Christ kept the Law perfectly and thus became the Doer of the Law. “For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My Own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me”(Jn. 6:38). By
obedience, He reversed Adam’s transgression,
creating in Himself a new humanity formed by the union of the human will to the
will of God. St. John Chrysostom
notes, ”...this is the marvel, that He not only
Himself fulfilled [God’s will], but He granted this to us
likewise.”
O
Eternal King, Thou didst cleanse the substance of mankind, anointing and
perfecting it by the communion of the Spirit, thereby translating it to life
immortal. O Lord, glory to Thee!
Return
to the January Calendar