“Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” St. Matthew’s gospel seems to have as its target audience Jewish Christians. This saying of Jesus affirms the continuity that exists between the Old and New Testaments. Yes, Jesus criticized those who blindingly hold onto the “tradition of the ancestors.” And, yest again, St. Paul warns against those who elevate law over gospel. But Matthew stresses that Jesus was a Jewish sage who drew deeply from his tradition in proclaiming the kingdom of God. Remember in the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “Not the smallest letter, not the smallest part of a letter of the law will be done away with until all is fulfilled.” What part of Catholic tradition will help us today as we strive to make the gospel come alive for modern people?
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By Church Staff
