Friday, February 23, 2018
1st Week of Lent
Reading: Ez. 18:21-28
Gospel: Mt 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill 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 deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister ‘Fool’ deserves to be 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 him, 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.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Two little brothers fight as mother prepares them for bed. The younger one is about to get even but the mother timely intervenes by asking him to recite this prayer: “Lord, let this anger go away as I rest, so that when I die tonight I go to heaven in my best.” The mother smiles in blissful satisfaction hearing her child uttering such prayer. But just as he slips into his blanket for the night’s rest, the mother hears him mumble the following words: “…but Lord, if I should wake up alive tomorrow, you’d better hide my brother somewhere because I will beat her black and blue.”
To be reconciled with others because we are afraid to die with hatred in our hearts fulfills the minimum of righteousness. But Jesus invites us to climb higher the ladder of spirituality by broadening our exercise of righteousness. He cites several areas where righteousness can be broadened. One area is reconciliation. Christianity’s brand of reconciliation goes beyond mere avoidance of conflict. It also abhors uncharitable utterances on anyone.
Christianity is more than just the avoidance of evil. As a positive religion it thrives on the fruitful exercise of love. This has no limits. It can even require the shedding of one’s blood. If a person steps into this level of spirituality, he can sleep soundly without worrying whether or not he lives or dies the next day. He never sleeps with hatred in his heart. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M. Email: [email protected].
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