Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into 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 with him.
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.” MT 5:20-26
Jesus continues His teaching today. He is specifically speaking to His disciples and all who want to be a follower of Christ. Two main characteristics of being a disciple and reaching heaven are judgment to the unrepentant sinner and anger. Jesus teaches that there will be condemnation to the unrepentant sinner. Gehenna was a small town south of Jerusalem where a colt sacrificed children. The disciples knew this was a very bad place. Jesus is referring to the Kingdom of heaven where we will be judged and condemnation will come upon those who do not repent. We must forgive those closest to us: spouse, children, friends, co-workers and all who may offend us. Those closest to us are the hardest to forgive. They know how to push our buttons and get under our skin. Our pride and battle for power set in and everything inside us fights not to forgive. We like to hold grudges and rub it in when someone else is wrong. We, too, must ask for forgiveness when we offend others. As Fr. Kapaun said, “If we fail to forgive we are rejecting our own faith.”
Second, anger leads to murder and war. Pope Francis said, “Every war begins in our mind.” This is so true. Anger is directly related to forgiveness and making peace. What a difficult obstacle to overcome. Whether the war is in our home, our schools, places of work, in the community or in the world they all begin in a person’s mind. Anger also leads to divorce, child abuse, fighting, yelling, and leave many hearts broken. Anger is so poisonous that if it is not controlled it can lead to murder. The root of anger many times is not being loved by those who God put on this earth to love us first, our parents. It can extend to not being loved by students, co-workers, teammates, or those closest to us. Love once again is central to discipleship as a follower of Christ because God is love. When we don’t love we are selfish. We don’t want to suffer or sacrifice for the good of others. An unrepentant sinner and anger Jesus teaches can lead to condemnation.
Today’s challenge: Forgive someone who has hurt you. Ask for forgiveness. Ask God to have mercy on you. Imagine if God stopped loving us or forgiving us. We must forgive others as God always forgives us. Do whatever it takes to control your anger! Start by sitting in a quiet Church or adoration chapel and listening to God’s will.
Be a servant, become a saint!
Christian YOLO
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