Teaching about anger

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. 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 BE RECONCILED WITH YOUR BROTHER.

The Gospel is the first of the six antitheses of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus first quotes the fifth commandment (cf Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17), “You shall not kill,” then gives His interpretation that traces the root of killing to anger. Jesus knows that conflicts and misunderstandings cannot be avoided in human relationships; thus, He offers a venue for reconciliation in the liturgy.

Participants in a liturgical celebration should be reconciled with one another first before offering gifts to the Lord. The Mass always begins with the rite of reconciliation to make us worthy to offer the holy Eucharist.