A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 5:20-26)
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”
As a starting point to surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus tells his disciples to follow the Ten Commandments: “You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.” Moving beyond the commandments, Jesus calls the disciples, and all of us, to a higher standard. Along with righteousness, interior disposition opens up forgiveness, reconciliation, and love of neighbor. A scholar of the law asked Jesus, “Who is my brother?” What followed was the parable of the Good Samaritan. The brother Jesus refers to is not limited to family members but includes every person God places in our path.
God, give me the opportunity today to examine my disposition toward others, especially in regard to forgiveness. Letting go of past hurts inflicted by others obstructs my closeness to you, and I don’t want any part of that. I say that, but I know that left to myself, I struggle to forgive and reconcile. Give me the grace to imitate your Son in forgiving others, even from the cross, the place of greatest brokenness. Help me remember not to take myself so seriously, to acknowledge my own hard-heartedness and not be imprisoned by it but seek instead to enter your kingdom. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”
From the verse before the Gospel: “Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, And make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.