Paul's writing, in today's passage from the letter to the Galatians, is in response to the question asked by some Jews, "If Jesus Christ is God's revelation, why then do we have the Torah?" To the Jews, God's revelation is found in the Torah. Paul's answer is that the Torah is likened to a 'disciplinarian' in a school. It was his or her task to make sure the children went to school, paid attention to the lessons, and where necessary, to discipline them in order to protect them physically and morally. Like the discipline teacher, the Torah provided discipline and restraint for the people of Israel. That is, until Christ came and made authentic self-discipline and self-control possible.

Through Christ, the people are no longer children under a 'disciplinarian', but have become children of God by faith. Now, there are no differences among them, regardless their backgrounds, since they are all gathered together as one in Christ. Today's psalm takes up the idea of the descendants Abraham and Jacob being gathered by God. For this, the people are invited to praise God who is faithful to His promise, and who will act to bring the people home to their land. It is no wonder then that Jesus, in the Gospel passage, responds to the woman's comment, that takes the form of praise for the mother who had brought him into the world, points out that that true happiness consists not in physical relationships, but in the spiritual relationship we all share with God and with one another through hearing and keeping the word of God.