Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Year A
Jeremiah 26:11-16.24
Psalm 69:15-16 .30-31. 33-34 (R. see 14)
Matthew 14:1-12
The True Head of the Law
While the fear of man torments us, the fear of God amends us. Today as we celebrate the memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorists, and patron of moral theology, our minds are drawn to the Law of God.
If we reflect on the beheading of John the Baptist, we realize that it is because the Head or Lord of the Law, our Lord Jesus Christ has come to fulfil the Law. The Prophets proclaimed the Law of God to his people and cautioned them to amend their ways.
Through Moses the Law was given to us, hence he became the greatest of all the Prophets (cf. Deuteronomy 34:10). But just as our Lord Jesus said the first shall be the last and the last first (cf. Matthew 19:30), John the Baptist who was the last of the Prophets before Jesus, became the greatest (cf. Matthew 11:11).
The Prophets speak for God. They preach to God's people to obey the Law of God. Interestingly, John the Baptist as the Last Prophet was on the Last of the Law
Exodus 20:17
"You shall not set your heart on your neighbor's spouse..."
John the Baptist who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, and as Elijah rebuked Ahab and Jezebel, so with the same authority, John rebuked Herod and Herodias.
So completing his work so that the Lord of the Law will come and fulfil the Law, as he himself said;
John 3:30
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
Today we hear he loses his head, and by extension his tongue and voice, he is silenced, so that now we get a new deeper understanding of who a Prophet is, a person through whom God speaks. Thus a Prophet speaks for God because God speaks through him.
The point is, John the Baptist like all the Prophets, represent the Law. However as Herod who is in doubt about Jesus Christ, philosophized about the power that the Saints will posses after resurrection that, Jesus Christ's power he uses to perform miracles is because, he is John the Baptist who has resurrected. We know that, that is not the case, rather Jesus Christ is the true head of the Law.
So while he behead the Prophet who represents the Law, the true Head of the Law has replaced it, and God has become the voice to reveal himself to us. The Law reveals God to us; Love.
Hebrews 1:1-2
At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the ages.
The Church makes us understand that through our Baptism, we are incorporated into Jesus Christ who is anointed priest, prophet and King (cf. CCC 1241). We have become priests/priestesses, prophets/prophetess and kings/queens because of Jesus Christ our Lord, the true Lord of the Law.
Now we don't walk according to the flesh, which delighting in the dance of the damsel sought to silence the Law of God, but according to the Spirit, because the Spirit of Christ has been given to us and Christ no longer an example to copy, but our veritable life to live.
God wants to speak through you; through your life and your words. He wants to be Lord of all the three powers of your soul; for your memory he wants to make you a prophet or prophetess who remembers his Law; for your understanding he wants to make you a king or queen who discerns life with his Law; for your will he wants you to be a priest or priestess who sacrifices wants for the sake of his Law.
Allow Christ Jesus to be your head and speak through you to others. Your life can be a living Bible for others to read.
By
Sylvester Amakye-Quayson
Edited by
Michael Owusu Amponsah
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