Gospel (Mt 5:17-19)

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Commentary

Jesus teaches here the perennial value of the Old Testament, because it is the word of God and enjoys divine authority.

At the same time he proclaims a higher law which is the law of Love, the law of the Spirit which resonates in every human heart. He has come not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to bring them to their fullness.

Jesus tell us that he has come to definitively promulgate the law of God, through his preaching and above all through his offering on the Cross.

Thus Jesus teaches us how to carry out God’s will: “Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

The law our Lord promulgates is the law of freedom because it is the law of Love. And in love, even the smallest thing has enormous importance. As Saint Josemaría said in The Way: “Great souls pay much attention to little things” (no. 818).