00:00Hello dear brothers and sisters! I am Father Ernesto María Caro again with you, in this project called "Knowing for Mar," which seeks to answer many of the questions and doubts that many of our Catholic brothers and sisters have about the faith, scripture, and various theological topics.
00:19Today Juan José writes to us from Austin, Texas and asks for our opinion on an interesting topic.
00:31Juan José tells me, Father, I don't understand how it is possible that the church continues to be anchored in the past, given that as Saint Paul says, with Christ came the fullness of time.
00:43If God himself came to teach us the way, the truth, and the life, how is it possible that we still cling to the old laws, simply because they are God's laws, given at that time to a specific type of society?
00:59God himself, the man, gives us John Joseph, Jesus, to demonstrate that perfection had come in love; he himself constantly broke that law by doing work out of love on the Sabbath.
01:15I believe that the church, like a good mother and assisted by God himself, seeks to perfect its children in love.
01:24However, it seems that he finds it very difficult to adapt to the new commandment of love and has not been able to create a new set of laws that improves upon the old set of Moses.
01:34But it is our task as a church to seek to fulfill the desire of the Lord Jesus, to break free from the old scheme, where law for law's sake kills and limits man in his desire to love as God loves.
01:48It is not an easy task, but I have great faith that God himself will give us the necessary means to find that perfection in love, because Jesus' task is not finished until we all form one flock, one faith, one baptism and have one God and Father.
02:09I hope you can understand my point of view and that we can discuss this topic further, not only among ourselves, but also use this medium to gather more opinions on the matter and thus work together to find solutions, asking for the assistance of the Holy Spirit in all of this.
02:27What do you think? Interesting, isn't it?
02:30Here our brother Juan José accepted a proposal to modify some of the fundamental elements of our faith, to forget the Old Testament and incorporate only the New Testament and to form a new scheme of laws that are focused on love.
02:54Okay, so this is what we'll be dealing with. As you can see, it's a long and complex topic, so we're going to have to use, I think, at least three sessions to be able to resolve it.
03:06And well, my dear brother, more than an answer I would like to comment on your contribution to our section
03:30And to tell you that in matters of dogma, even more so, in matters directly and clearly referred to in Sacred Scripture, it is not subject to opinions, nor to public consultation to see what others think and thus reach an agreement.
03:47The word of God is not a matter of opinion. This is what defines us as men and women of faith: we accept what Scripture says exactly as God presents it, because we truly discover that it is the word of God.
04:02Although we always seek, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, which is what we do a lot in this section, to better understand the meaning of the word of God,
04:13This does not mean that in this understanding we can modify or have a different opinion about what God thinks and what He has left us in His word.
04:24Now, the specific topic you propose is the topic of the law, and you distinguish between the law of the Old Testament and that of the New Testament.
04:36The Old Testament one based on the ten commandments that God gave to Moses and the New Testament one or the New Covenant given by Jesus in the New Commandment of Love.
04:47I would like to begin by quoting some of Jesus' teachings on this distinction you make.
04:54In Matthew 5, verses 17 through 19, Jesus says,
04:58Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
05:03I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
05:06For truly I tell you, heaven and earth will pass away.
05:10And not the smallest letter or the smallest accent mark of the law will be lost until all of it is fulfilled.
05:18Therefore, whoever nullifies even one of these commandments,
05:24even the smallest of them,
05:27and teach others not to comply,
05:30He will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
05:34But whoever keeps them and teaches them,
05:37He will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
05:39If you look closely, brother,
05:42With this, Jesus declares the validity of the law of Moses,
05:46since in the sacred books,
05:49He, like every Jew,
05:51continue to find and discover the divine will,
05:54which must be observed by everyone,
05:57even in the fullness of time,
06:00inaugurated by Jesus.
06:01Now then,
06:03Jesus said this as an introduction to the rest of his teaching on the law.
06:08where we see that it does not annul said law,
06:12but rather intends,
06:13and what it does is bring it to its fullness.
06:16For example,
06:17I propose to you only the teaching on adultery as it relates to the law.
06:23In the law of Sinai,
06:25says God,
06:25You can see it in Exodus 20,
06:27Jesus does not eliminate the topic of adultery,
06:35where it says that it should not be adulterated.
06:39What Jesus says is,
06:41I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman with desire,
06:46He has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
06:50I mean,
06:51brings the law to its fullest expression.
06:53It is not only about physical adultery,
06:56What can be done with the person?
06:58but this takes it to an even higher sphere,
07:02which is just by looking at the woman.
07:04Therefore, the commandment is not annulled,
07:07but it acquires a greater requirement,
07:09because it is not just about physical adultery now,
07:12As I was saying earlier,
07:14but even the one that is forged in the heart of man,
07:18and that she is preparing psychologically,
07:20emotionally and mentally,
07:21to tackle it later.
07:23This greater demand is truly rooted in love.
07:30He who truly loves his neighbor,
07:33It wouldn't cause harm even to a woman who isn't his wife.
07:37nor to his own wife,
07:39becoming emotionally involved, sentimentally involved,
07:42or finally sexually with another woman,
07:44who is not his wife.
07:46So, if you look closely,
07:49Jesus doesn't cancel anything,
07:51brings it to its fullness,
07:54He quotes the Old Testament directly,
07:57And it says that anything can happen, heaven and earth,
08:02But the word of God will continue to be fulfilled.
08:04He says, and I'll tell you even more.
08:06So,
08:07We need to realize
08:09that Jesus did not come to abolish any commandment,
08:14but came to give full compliance to these commandments.
08:17Good,
08:18Let's leave it here,
08:19Our time has run out.
08:21If you found this topic interesting,
08:24Share it on your social networks,
08:26And we'll see each other to continue talking.
08:27on the laws of the Old Testament.
08:30Until next time.
08:31Blessings to you and your family.
08:33Thank you!
