Marg Gobius, Leader of School Evangelisation at MacKillop College, reads today from the Gospel of Matthew (5:20-26) in which Jesus says, ‘if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering’.

Marg says the Gospel today continues to explore Jesus’ teaching from his sermon on the Mount and reminds us that whoever is angry with their brother or sister will be judged for it.

Jesus had previously shared with the disciples that “I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it”, and now in today’s Gospel he goes into exploring more deeply what this looks like.

Marg suggests Jesus is saying to us, don’t just rest on your laurels saying “…well I have never killed anyone, so I am good”, but he is reminding us to look deeper into our attitudes…. Not just our actions – with what we say and even in what we think.

Not only is it a reminder that our words can be incredibly hurtful, but even our angry and disrespectful thoughts of others are sinful.

Marg says she finds that St Paul, in his letters, is often able to give her a clearer picture of what Jesus was telling us all. In reflecting on today’s Gospel, Marg recalls that even St Paul, who on the Road to Damascus was “breathing threats and murderous intentions against the disciples”, was eventually used by God to be one of his most faithful missionaries of His Good news.

Paul went on to challenge each of us to turn our thoughts away from anger to better things when he says in his letter to the Philippians, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”.

Marg invites us to pray for ourselves and each other, that we allow the example of Jesus and the direction of the Holy Spirit to lead us to find goodness in even the most difficult of situations, and to focus on these things, instead of what causes us to feel angry. Amen.