Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 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.”
You must be fair
1) Your justice. Our justice, yours and mine, must be quite different from the scribes’ justice. That is to say, we mustn’t to act out of anger when there’s something that hurts and bothers us. If you act there and then, on the spot, it’s very possible that you may think you’re being fair, but if you allow your passions and feelings to lead your actions, intelligence is left aside. That’s why most probably you’ll later regret your reaction or realize that you overdid it. Learn to act calmly and you will be fair if you do justice based on reason and logic. When you get angry and overheated, if I give you a sword, you will surely kill the person who hurt you, and you might possibly harm other people. At the moment, you’ll justify your actions in every possible way, but, when you calm down, you’ll realize what you’ve done, you’ll realize that you’ve left a trail of wounded, destroyed people. Well, instead of hurting them with a sword, it will have been with your tongue.
2) Patience. In a situation that drives you out of yourself, the first thing you have to do is calm down; don’t act on the spur of the moment, learn to look at the whole picture. Of course, you have to act justly, but objectively and based on the truth. All extremes are bad, neither act to destroy someone instantly, nor act two years later when the culprits are no longer there. Learn to know how to discover the appropriate moment to act and say things.
3) Reconcile. This is a difficult subject. Getting irritated can even lead to illness. Don’t let anyone kill your dreams or turn you into what you are not, much less bring out the worst in you. Seek reconciliation, to resume a relationship and not create a host of enemies in a short time. Learn how to be more diplomatic, to talk things over, looking for a solution to things and maintaining the spirit of dialogue. Of course, if nothing is achieved and the situation is a toxic relationship or a vicious circle, then the best thing to do is not to declare war but rather to pray and take the necessary distance. It’s better to move on. Take care of your prayer, take care of your life, and take care of your relationship with those people who do you good and help you to come together with God.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Always remember that something good is on the way.
