GOSPEL POWER l June 9, 2022 - Thursday of 10th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mt 5:20-26 

Jesus said to his disciples, 20“For I tell you, unless your righteousness  exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the  kingdom of heaven. 21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You  shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’  22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will  be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will  be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable  to the hell of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if  you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to  your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to  terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court  with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the  judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell  you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

 In the Bible, the heart represents the interior mystery of  a person. It is the center where intentions are conceived  and plans are born. Murder simply externalizes the violent  movements present in the human heart — anger, hatred, and every  perverse desire to harm another person. When Jesus reinterprets  the fifth commandment of the Decalogue, he broadens its scope by  including what goes on inside the human heart, where all external  violence originates. By arresting violence at its very source by means  of anger-management and by taking the initiative at reconciliation, a  person is prevented from giving free rein to that violence and actually  taking another person’s life. 

Lord Jesus, help us to be slow to anger and never to let the sun go down