By Sherry Antonetti

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” ~ Matthew 5:17

Today’s Gospel strikes that odd tone in the heart as only Jesus can. He tells his disciples that He has come to fulfill the law and the prophets. With Christ, it is always more, not less. In saying this, Jesus illustrates the deeper reality of God’s laws to the world for all time. They are revealed in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. God does not change, but as we grow, we become more able to accept, embrace, and live more fully what God wrote on our hearts.

God’s laws are true

“Not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). God’s laws are eternal and not subject to fashion or philosophy or the times. What was true then is true now. What is good and holy now, was good and holy then. It is a great comfort to know that we do not need to wring our hands or wrack our brains to understand it; it merely is. In this day and age, when much of our world embraces relativism as a primary means through which to understand or deliberately misunderstand the world, it is comforting to find something as solid as the cross. It is a rock upon which to rest our spirits and know that what was true is true and ever shall be true. What God proclaims, He never “unproclaims.”

Learning to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven

There is also tremendous reinforcement of the idea that one should pursue, practice, and teach truth with the promise of Jesus’ final words in this Gospel reading, “He who does [these commandments] and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). A heady title indeed! We already know who holds this title, The Blessed Mother, the Queen of Heaven, who obeys and teaches by her life and by the Rosary established through the mysteries of her life. Let us aspire to be like Mary and rejoice at her title.

Let us also recognize that Christ isn’t in the business of making the way to Heaven unknown. He is continually revealing to us that what God desires is written on our hearts and is always available if we seek it. The more we seek, the more we will discover God’s infinite love and will for ourselves and our lives. Let us seek to be the least on Earth, that we might be in the company of the greatest in Heaven.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, teach me how to be the least on earth so that I may be in Heaven with You for eternity.

Call to Action:

Which teaching of Jesus do you need to focus on most particularly? Find a way to incorporate that into your week.

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