But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment Matthew 5:22a

Do you allow sin or anger to master your life? The first person to hate his brother was Cain. God warned Cain: “Why are you angry?... Sin is a demon lurking at the door; his urge is toward you, yet you can be its master.” (Genesis 4:6-7). Sin doesn't just happen; it first grows as a seed in one's heart.

Jesus was very aware that actions have their roots in something deeper. The awful action of killing someone often has its roots in anger residing deep within the person. That is why Jesus goes beyond the commandment “Do not kill” and prohibits the kind of anger that leads to killing, an anger that often finds expression initially in speaking disrespectfully of others, such as calling them “fool”. Behind a certain way of acting is often to be found a certain way of speaking and behind both can be found dark emotions in the human heart. 

Jesus wanted to get to the root of actions that inflict harm, sometimes deadly harm, on others. That is what Jesus means in today’s gospel reading by a “virtue that goes deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees.” Such a deeper virtue is not something we can create from our own efforts or will power alone. It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Lord, who can transform the deepest roots of our lives. 

The Jewish Scriptures speak about the Spirit creating a new heart within us.  The heart is understood as the inner core of the person from which so much else flows. Within our own Christian tradition, there is a prayer that reflects this understanding of the role of the Spirit of God, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.” In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me;” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ can live deep within us, and that is the source of the deeper virtue that Jesus speaks about in today"s gospel reading.

Blessings, 

Deacon Jack

St Clare of Assisi

Houston, TX