The Carpenter and the Law

Reflection for February 15, 2026 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus reminds his disciples that he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Find the daily reading here.

My husband and I couldn’t believe our luck: our new house had a deck. It was more than a couple of broke millennials had ever dared to dream. Lounging in our patio furniture drinking coffee and watching the cars drive past, we felt like Kennedys at Hyannis Port. We had arrived.

Well, until it started falling apart.

To be fair, my husband knew this was going to happen all along, because he’s a person who uses words like “joist” and “weight-bearing” correctly. He took one look at the deck at the open house and knew it wasn’t up to code. “We’re going to have to reinforce this at some point,” he told me. “Whatever!” I replied, daydreaming about twinkle lights and porch parties.

Sure enough, our second summer in the house, he had to rip the rotting surface boards off. The biggest issue was that the joists were too far apart; when we stepped on the boards, they bowed and almost cracked, lacking adequate support beneath. But we weren’t going to redo the whole deck — we’re not actually Kennedys. We (okay, he) simply ripped the surface boards off, added the necessary joists, and replaced the decking with newer, better, stronger wood.

Simply put, my husband did not come to abolish the deck, but to fulfill it.

The law of Moses was like a good deck, admirably built. You could say “Raqa,” your heart filled with anger, and the law didn’t break. But that anger treads heavily on boards not adequately supported. Over time, the anger becomes too much to bear. And that board — that law, that heart — it’ll break. Just you wait.

And when it does, you’ll see why: there wasn’t anything beneath, holding it up.

So God sent a Carpenter to reinforce the law. The Carpenter crafted joists from prudence, fortitude, justice and temperance — strong virtues that can withstand a lifetime of battery, if properly maintained.

And the law still holds.

©LPi