Friday Gospel Recharge
A Reflection on Matthew 5: 20 - 26
(1st Friday of Lent, Year B of the Liturgical Calander, 2024)
Beyond the embodiment of Dogma: mercy
If you're not familiar with the Gospels, Jesus' main opponents are
the Scribes and Pharisees. Aware of the Roman occupant and the burdens they
impose, Jesus notes their hefty tax on his people, though it's not a
significant issue in his earthly ministry. The insignificance of the Roman
occupants may relate to Jesus' vision of a new Jerusalem, restructuring the
Davidic Kingdom to include all nations and ethnic groups in the divine family.
Jesus' concern with the
Scribes and Pharisees lies in their strict adherence to the written law,
suggesting a legalistic approach to religious practices. Jesus is deeply
troubled by their strict interpretation of the law, recognizing the burden it
imposes on people's physical and spiritual well-being. They have either forsaken
the Mosaic Law in favor of pagan practices or grown accustomed to a rigid
observance, lacking mercy in their social and pastoral approach to the Judaic
community. To address this, Jesus confronts not the foreign occupants, but
those hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees whose understanding and practice of
the Law deviate from a traditional interpretation centered on God’s letter of
the text—love and mercy.
In today’s Gospel, the
Scribes and the Pharisees feature once again in another of Jesus’ messages:
“‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you
will never get into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus presents this message to his
audience so to challenge them to go beyond the superficial adherence to rules
and regulations. Indeed, it’s just “not to kill,” and to present those who do
murder “before the court,” which we read here. However, God’s measure of
justice goes beyond the strict line that could only see it to mean giving unto
one what one only deserves. In fact justice should be an act of mercy and mercy
an act of justice. In numerous occasions Jesus presents this notion in his
teachings. For example, the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus
teaches us that mercy is at the heart of justice. In this parable, the vineyard
owner pays those who do a days work a days wage, and those who work only half
or one tenth of a days work also a days wage.
In today’s Gospel account,
Jesus brings home the message emphasising that mercy is a virtue that proceeds
from God. He says, if anyone is angry with his brother, be reconciled with him
first, before making your offering of sacrifice. For the measure of love one
shows to another will be the measure God will show unto him. Jesus wants us to
empathise with those who disappoint or break relationship with us. People are
complex beings and often their distorted thinking, their broken ways will
determine how they act. They don’t necessarily mean to harm us, it’s just that
their judgment in executing the good is an erroneous one, and this can be
forgiven. God understands we can fail him a lot of the time too; he is aware
that our fallen nature informs our decisions which is unpleasant and
frustrating to him; however he wants us to hold off the cane and see how those
who have hurt us or others in the community as God would, empathising with his
plight.
Showing mercy is tough. This
is because we have a very bad opponent, the devil, who entices us to remain
unreconciled people. Yes, we may have opponents in this world: former friends,
colleagues, enemy nation states, although our greatest opponent is the devil:
for he influences humans to become our opponents. The best approach to warding
off this vile creature is by staying close to the principalities of heaven such
as our guardian angel and all the angelic and saintly hosts of heaven. We must
pray to them for their protection; indeed we can pray directly to God too for
his intercession however God’s community in heaven do not exist in a passive
state. They are active in our redemption longing that we might be saved along
with them. So, pray to your guardian angel or any other heavenly host with whom
you have or want a close relationship. If we fail in this area, we might indeed
fester human opponents for a lifetime. As this gospel message suggests,
lifelong opponents amounts to an unfavourable judgment. if this case might be,
we will then have the devil and his colleagues of hell accuse and torment us
for an eternity, asking the question: why did you not reconcile with your
brother when you had the chance. A scary yet just and merciful outcome for
those who die in their sins.
As we continue to journey this Lent, towards Calvary where Jesus died for the forgiveness of sins, let’s pray for the grace to ward off the evil spirits that prey we might become rigid and unforgiving people. Let us also ask for the insight in people’s plight and the grace to be forgiving people. Let us pray that our broken relationships might be mended, representing the divine essence of the tri-persons of God which is love.
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