The Heart of the Law Is Love

02-15-2026Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples that righteousness must not be confined to mere observance of the law. True righteousness goes beyond fulfilling what is required by going the "extra mile." I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Here, He reminds us that we cannot use adherence to the law as an escape from true righteousness. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Though the religious leaders breathed a sigh of relief hearing this statement from Jesus, it did not keep them from sending spies to monitor Jesus' movements, activities, and teachings.

Thus, it did not allay their fears whenever they heard reports of Jesus healing on a Sabbath. The many infractions against the Law committed by Jesus-allowing His disciples to pick grains on a Sabbath, touching lepers, and acquitting a woman caught in adultery-were too much for the Law-oriented Jewish leaders! But in Jesus' heart, He pitied the ordinary Jewish believers who tried their best to live by the Ten Commandments but were burdened by the 613 rules imposed by their leaders, in addition to the Decalogue. Before He left, He identified the greatest commandment for them: to love God and their neighbor, and He taught them how to fulfill both.

The law of God directs and guides us to avoid grave sins. Yet these laws are not intended to be fulfilled merely by external observances or by simply avoiding sins. The true spirit of the law calls for a conversion of the heart. The way of Jesus is the way of pure and faithful love-love that transforms untamed hearts. Honesty is the way to address any duplicity within us. Jesus teaches us the way of God's wisdom, a mysterious, hidden wisdom re- vealed to us only through Him. Because God reveals His wisdom through the Holy Spirit, He ensures that the heart understands His divine love. Psalm 119 celebrates this truth for all who treasure this gift in their hearts: "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord."

Let us go beyond the demands of the letter of the law and move toward the spirit of the law. Being too legalistic leads us to become controlling, calculating, judgmental, and impersonal. Let us live not according to the letter of the law but according to its spirit. The love of God is broader, deeper, and more inclusive than we can imagine- so let us not limit His love according to our laws, traditions, and standards. Mere adherence to the law does not excuse us from practicing true righteousness. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince captures this truth perfectly: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. Kingdoms of the world operate, live, and thrive on human laws.

The Kingdom of God also operates, lives, and prospers under human laws, but goes beyond them because of natural law and His Divine Law. If we are strict, unbending, and uncompromising, we live only by human law. The coming of Jesus redefined the parameters of laws: beyond justice, beyond the law, is love. Beyond The Decalogue is Jesus' commandment of LOVE. May we not regret that we focused more on the work of our hands and somehow forgot the love in our hearts, or that we focused more on our functions and neglected to love people.