Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26
“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.”
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Reflection:
What is the cure for anger? It’s humility.
Nobody is perfect. Once in a while, we get angry, but do we have the humility to make amends after we have injured someone with our arrogance? Only a gentle and humble person would have the courage to say, “I’m sorry,” or to apologize.
But saying “I’m sorry” is not easy. Only a humble person would summon enough courage to say these magic words that have healed so many disputes and arguments. In our Gospel for today, Jesus gives us a teaching about anger.
Jesus tells us that we must be reconciled with those with whom we have differences and feelings of enmity. But why do we get angry in the first place? We get angry because we lack humility. We get angry because we have a superiority complex against our fellowmen.
It is only humility that can deescalate and eventually eliminate our anger. Let us, therefore, pray for the grace of humility. Let us ask God the Holy Spirit to give it to us. The best test of humility is our willingness to apologize and admit our mistakes to those whom we have hurt. — Marino J. Dasmarinas
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