The Gospel for Wednesday of the tenth week in ordinary time is taken from Matthew 5th chapter 17:19 Jesus said to his disciples, do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen. I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus has come to empower us to live under the law infused with the law. And he’s not talking about the mosaic law of 613 different rules and regulations. He’s talking about the Ten Commandments, which are reduced to the most beautiful explanation that it’s all about loving God and loving our neighbor. And he’s just simply saying the kingdom of heaven is made up with those who can make a distinction between regulations that are not really about relationships. Relationships are the heart of what Jesus has come to transform. Please ponder this reflection and I will close with a prayer.

Foreign Father, we live in a sea of things that are asked of us. Rules and regulations we follow for all kinds of reasons, but help us always to focus on one law, the Law of love. That’s the most essential. That’s the one that you’ve called us to live. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.