Friday of First week in Lent (Es C:12-25; Mt 7:7-12) If your righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. No doubt Scripture says elsewhere, that our righteousness is like filthy rags. However, this does not provide an excuse whatsoever, to stop acting in a righteous manner or giving anyone an excuse to dismiss off righteousness off-hand. When we stop being righteous, then we step into unrighteous acts (which are often unjust and sometimes very evil). Next, let us look at sportsmen. Maybe currently the trainer tells him that his current best is not good enough to qualify for the Olympics or that his performance is rubbish. Does the person get dejected? Rather, he trains even harder, raises the bar on his capabilities, qualifies and even wins the Olympics. Such great is the thirst and desire in the athlete. Using this same example (considering that St Paul often used the example of athletes even for our spiritual life), Jesus is our trainer. He asks us to raise the level of our righteousness so that it exceeds that of the Pharisees and scribes (our righteousness initially may have been like filthy rags, and perhaps currently similar to that of Pharisees – who did things to show off to people and for people’s approval). Our righteousness must now be for righteousness sake and for God’s greater glory. Next, Jesus raises the bar, even higher. The commandment says, “Thou shall not kill”. Many people think that just because “no one died”, they have not broken the commandment. Jesus raises now tells us not to even guard against doing foolish things or say foolish things out of anger. We might end up repenting for it for a long time afterwards. In our anger, we may not end up using knives or guns, but we often say things that “maim” and “destroy” people and their reputation for life. Sometimes parents or spouses may be angry with the child or the other partner. In their anger, they might end up saying, “I never wanted you in the first place”. The person to whom it is targeted, will often be scarred for life (thinking they were unwanted, or just a choice that the person took on the rebound because “no one else was there”). The relationship is also scarred (even if we deny it). Surely, they will cry out to God (maybe they will think, “why was I ever married to this person” or “why was I even born to such parents”), and God hears them too. A great preacher once said, in a way the Sanhedrin and Gehanna of Scripture today also exist within us. Perhaps we will condemn ourselves (seeing the relationship wither away), “Why did I ever say / do such a thing?” We end up condemning ourselves perhaps for the rest of our lives. Perhaps the fire of unforgiveness, hatred that we experience (both at what we said/did, and what the other person may now feel for us) will burn us throughout the rest of our lives. Jesus therefore speaks of the importance of being reconciled, and considers it more important than just making sacrifices on the altar. When we go to the altar, with our gifts, we expect to have a clean mind and beautiful thoughts of praise. However, when our minds are not reconciled, perhaps our prayers too reflect it, and instead of praying for good things, we might just end up praying that these people (who may have hurt us in a small way) are destroyed completely. Jesus also tells us to worry if our brother has anything against us and to be reconciled before coming and offering sacrifice. We might think, “If I have anger in my heart, that is my problem, but why should I worry if my brother is angry? He should learn to control his anger”. For Jews, “an eye for an eye” was fair reparation and not considered unjust or excess. Now, Jesus is telling us (and them) to not only forgive others, but also seek pardon from and be reconciled to them for the anger and resentment that they may have against us (even if we perhaps think that the resentment is unjustified). We must ask ourselves, why should my brother have something against me? Perhaps it is because of something said or done, or something perceived to have been said or done (even if we actually meant something else). And then, that person has a grudge against us. Now, this person may see us before the altar, and turn round and say to God, “Lord, this man is asking you mercy for great sins, and here he has insulted me and hurt me, perhaps just for some small fault”. God who is just, will surely also listen to that man too. Perhaps we will find ourselves condemned for our hypocrisy and our double standards right in front of God’s altar. Lord Jesus teach us to live by your values, and to forgive even as You did forgive, even from the cross itself.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:57:29 +0000
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