15 June, 2023 | Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time (Foundation Day of the Daughters of St Paul)

 Gospel 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."

Reflections

Jesus tells His disciples that for the Pharisees, virtue was largely measured by the external observance of the law. For Christ, honesty is not to be triggered by merely swearing an oath or living by rules. It should come from the heart and every word we speak should come out of the heart.

God is thus portrayed as perfect in relationships, that is, complete: not partial but impartial. God’s perfection in this context is, therefore, love offered without partiality. Jesus calls on his followers to be children of God in this same quality. "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." In other words, you must love without partiality, as God does. Thus understood, perfection is not only possible but actually realized whenever and wherever our relationships come under the reign of God.