SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, FEBRUARY 15, 2026
- Maria Knox
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
Gospel Matthew 5:17-37
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.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,'will be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, 'You fool, 'will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
"Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No. 'Anything more is from the evil one."
REFLECTION
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill"
Today is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time before the season of Lent starts. Two Sundays ago we heard about the Beatitudes. Last Sunday we heard about being the salt of the earth. And today Jesus tells us 6 times how the old commandments are fulfilled (antitheses).
In my line of work governance is very important. One of the aspects of governance is to create detailed step-by-step documentation of a business process. Once this has been documented (into painfully detailed steps), then the work simply flows almost without issues. It allows me to avoid mistakes that could be detrimental to the whole company, interact better with other teams, teach younger coworkers critical thinking on processes so they are not flying by the seat of their pants, and generally avoid assumptions and misunderstandings. It is a way to establish goals, analyze risks, and deliver value.
I know it is not the same thing, but I can see how God first gives Moses a governance with the 10 commandments, and how Jesus fulfils these as well.
I have met people caught up in the commandments because they think they just say "don't do this", and we don't like to be told what to do. It is a very American thing. We want to do what we want to do. We think that doing whatever we want to do is freedom.
Pope Benedict XVI explained:
But let us ask ourselves: what meaning do these Ten Commandments have for us, in the present cultural context in which secularism and relativism risk becoming the criteria of every choice and this society of ours that seems to live as if God does not exist? We answer that God gave us the Commandments to teach us true freedom and genuine love, so that we can be truly happy. They are a sign of the love of God the Father, of his desire to teach us how to distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, right and wrong. They are comprehensible to all because they set fundamental values as concrete rules and regulations, by putting them into practice man can walk the path of true freedom, which set him firmly on the path that leads to life and happiness.
Furthermore he says:
By contrast, when man ignores the Commandments in his life, not only does he alienate himself from God and abandon the alliance with him but he also distances himself from life and lasting happiness. Man left to himself, indifferent to God, proud of his absolute autonomy, eventually ends up following the idols of selfishness, power, domination, polluting the relationship with himself and with others and taking paths that do not lead to life but death. The sad experience of history, especially of the last century, is a warning to all humanity.
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