Teaching about Anger

 Today's Reflections

                                                  

 

     

Teaching about Anger 

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Mt 5:20-26

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ²⁰“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ ²²But 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. ²³Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Settle 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. ²⁶Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Reflection:

Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. When Jesus says that to enter God’s kingdom one must surpass the scribes and Pharisees in righteousness, he does not mean that the scribes and the Pharisees are lawbreakers. In fact, they are very observant of the prescriptions of the law.

Jesus does want to point out, however, that external observance, no matter how exact, is not enough. Jesus’ disciples must practice a morality of the heart. They must love from the heart, whether in dealing with their fellowmen or offering gifts to God. It is the heart that God looks at first of all.

Obey the law, but obey with a loving heart!