Mt 5:17–19
Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or dot in the Law will change until all is fulfilled.
So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them, and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the kingdom of heaven.
REFLECTION
Some Eastern countries in contrast with the West have loose and dictatorial government and the rich and powerful elite take advantage of the poor masses. People who don’t know any better in terms of the laws expect their leaders by examples and teachings to show faithful observance of rules and regulations. The rich are ostentatious in show of wealth and power. They are like resounding gongs or clanging cymbals, but useless. Instead, the lawmakers are the lawbreakers. The blind guide leading the blind followers.
There are people today who disregard the law because they are beholden only to God’s law. On the other hand, there are those who favor the government’s incursion into religious sphere. It’s a tricky tension between the “City of Man” and the “City of God.” Jesus showed how to balance this tension. Non-observance of the civil law is also a violation of God’s will. Analogously, both cities, similarly different and differently the same, serve the common good. The earthly sphere helps man to reach heaven through material things and the church aids the legitimate civil authorities in the pursuit of the common good through which heaven is served and gained.
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