monarch june 5 2005

June 9, 2005

Anger Mt 5:20-26

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 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."

Anger clouds the judgement and closes the heart. The teaching here is not saying that I can never be angry but that if I have been angry or had a dispute with anyone to resolve the issue, come to an agreement and peace with that person as soon as possible.

It further is hypocritical to go to worship and make gestures to God of love if I have not resolved an issue with a person that is in need of reconciliation and forgiveness. The parable is given in the reading of going to court and settling with your opponent before appearing before the judge. Those who can not go beyond the trivial battles of everyday life and leave behind anger and opposition to others will not enter the kingdom of God.