Please read the Scripture passage before the homily.
“I want to make this perfectly clear.” This something of the force of the opening words, :Do not think…” Jesus’ task is not to destroy or nullify, but to fulfill. There are two sides to the meaning of fulfill. One is that Jesus himself fulfils and carries out completely the law. The other is that he gives us the power to fulfill the law.
When will this completion take place? ‘until heaven and earth pass away” or “until all things have taken place”? If both these phrases mean the same thing, then the passage teaches that the Church is bound to the mosaic law as Jesus has interpreted it. It is also possible to interpret the phrase until all has taken place could refer to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This second interpretation puts some distance between the death and resurrection of Jesus and the thee end of the world.
“When” is a constant question that we ask. At times it shows up as, “Are we there yet?” or “This is bor-ing”, or simply, “Until when?” The answer we shall not have until it happens. Until then, we are part of the fulfilment because Christ does not send us to abolish but to fulfill. We who ask the question are ourselves an integral part of the answer.
The death and resurrection of Jesus marks a definite point in the fulfilment, but since we have a share in the death and resurrection of Jesus, our participation marks another definite point towards the fulfillment.