You have heard, that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone
who murders will have to face trial. But now, I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother
or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister is liable, to be brought
before the council. Whoever calls a brother or sister “Fool!” is liable, of being thrown into
the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, in front of the altar; go at
once, and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.
Don’t forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the
way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the
police, who will put you in jail. There, you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

Reflect

Let go of anger.” Anger is another thing that can impede our journey of faith. Anger is one
of the heaviest loads that paralyzes us to travel light in our faith journey. When we are angry,
our world can become very small. Why? It is because we would not want to look around us,
being fixated to look only into our own hurts and pains. In today’s Gospel, we are
still reflecting on the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus told his
disciples that they must be keener than the Lawyers and the Pharisees. Jesus’ disciples
should exceed the holiness of the scribes and the Pharisees. What does this mean? This
means that the one who follows Jesus should have a light disposition, detaching
themselves from anything that may prevent him/her to continue his/her journey closer
to God. To cite a particular teaching: “… anger can prevent us from getting closer to God.”
Through Jesus’ particular teaching in today’s Gospel, we are called to let go of any feeling of
rancor against anyone. If we allow our anger to grow, it will soon swallow us up. Let us not
allow our negative thought against anybody to take control of us.

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