Brothers, how great is the commandment to love one’s neighbor—the perfection of love! But I say to you: “Do not be angry,” for whoever insults his brother will be condemned by the Sanhedrin. But whoever has called him a fool, whoever has harmed him and hindered the mission I have entrusted to him, will be condemned by God.
It is useless to make offerings at the altar if you have not first sacrificed your resentments within your heart for the love of God and have not performed the rite of learning to forgive.
Therefore, if, when you are about to offer to God, you know that you have wronged your brother or harbor resentment over a fault of his, leave your offering before the altar; first make the sacrifice of your own self-love, and only then present your offering.
Amicable settlement is always the best course of action. Human judgment is unreliable, and those who stubbornly defy it may lose their case and be forced to pay their adversary down to the last coin—or suffer.
In all things, lift your gaze to God and ask yourselves: “Do I have the right to do to others what God does not do to me?” For God is not as relentless and stubborn as you are. Woe to you if He were! No one would be saved. May this reflection lead you to gentle, humble, and compassionate feelings. And then you will not lack God’s reward, here and beyond, and His justice will be great.
Your Master.
Reflection on the message:
Jesus gives us a passage from the Gospel that deserves to be read calmly, meditated upon, and then put into practice. We will have to give an account to God for every time we get angry with a brother, a friend, or a coworker. God’s judgment will be even more severe if we then tell a disciple or prophet of the Lord that he is “crazy.”
What Jesus asks of us is to forgive, to renounce our self-love, our pride, but above all, our arrogance—the gravest of sins, which is what characterized Satan at the moment of his rebellion against God.
We must be humble, meek, and calm, and always seek reconciliation in conflicts, avoiding confrontation with everyone.
When we hear people say, “God is not just,” let us remember these words of Jesus: if God were just, no one would be saved. But God is merciful; He is love, and before acting as judge, He leaves us free, in the hope that we may return to Him with a heart like His own.
Source: ➥ LaReginaDelRosario.org