Jesus said to his disciples:

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Matthew writes: But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…

“Angry with his brother…” Oh boy, I can only imagine if my ten siblings are reading this reflection this morning. All those little fights we had over the front seat, the remote control, access to the shower in the morning, and the keys to the car on the weekend. There sure was a fair amount of (healthy) anger in my household growing up in our large (still-tight) family. This Gospel passage is about something bigger than those minor disputes of yesteryear.

We are now ten days into Lent—one quarter of the way through. Matthew’s passage from the Sermon on the Mount invites us into ongoing conversion, and the ten-day-in benchmark may be a good prompt for us to more deliberately pause, reflect, and honestly assess where we stand on this journey of reconciliation and renewal.

Perhaps like my siblings and me, you have moved on from the inane arguments of our youth. It is likely that you have experienced disappointments and quarrels in life - both professional and personal. How do we do move past the grudges, the anger, or the bitterness, now that we are adults?

Matthew’s Gospel continues, “Settle with your opponent. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, guard and prison.” This “opponent” is not necessarily a person, and could be a sentiment, a deep-seeded anger, long-harbored and keeping us in a proverbial prison.

Maybe we can follow the directives heard in our youth to “offer it up.” In doing so, by leaving our gifts at the altar, we can find reconciliation. We can be at peace.

If we have been wronged, can we forgive? If being the one who wronged others, can we repent and seek reconciliation?

(Hey siblings, we are good with all those petty disputes from years ago, right?)

—Patrick Kennedy is the Sr. Advancement Director for the Midwest Jesuits. A graduate of the University of San Francisco’s McGrath Institute for Jesuit Catholic Education, he is one of eight siblings of his immediate family with a Jesuit degree. 

Lord, you taught us to pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Teach us to forgive. Teach us to ask for forgiveness. Amen.

—Jesuit Prayer team