Gospel

Matthew 5:20-26

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.”

Reflection

One of the ways in which I love to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, is that it is a kind of resonance, a kind of energy that flows out of us. And nothing is more clear in terms of the intention of Jesus that we enter into a kingdom called the kingdom of understanding and compassion and forgiveness.

That we recognize one another as partners in this work, and that we all fail. And how wrong it is to start picking at each other and blaming each other for mistakes that are made and not understanding we all share the same human nature and the same struggles. Why call a brother a fool when all of us are at times foolish?

Closing Prayer

Father, you tell us over and over again that you can awaken in us an intention. And it overrides the common experience we have with one another when we are critical and judgmental and demeaning to one another because of weaknesses. Just give us the strength we need to be more honest and more real. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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