Readings
I - Ezk. 18: 21-28
II - Mt. 5: 20-26
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
Merely killing a person alone is not murder. Words and gestures too can mutilate and murder a person. This why in today’s Gospel passage Jesus teaches that not only those who murder are liable to judgment but those who are angry with others, those who insult and those who call others a fool. Jesus conditions to come with a reconciled heart while making an offering to the Lord. Reconciliation not that when we have offended someone but when we realise that someone has something against us - a supreme teaching that superseded the teaching of the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus invites us to take initiative for peace and reconciliation.
Anger is the reflection of one’s pride and arrogance while reconciliation is a sign of acceptance and humility. Love uproots pride, upholds humility of heart and aspires for reconciliation and peace. Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5:9). The best example for the passage is Jesus’ forgiveness on the cross even to the people who crucified him. It was the people who had something against him that they crucified him though innocent was he but Jesus as the beloved of the Father, the Son of God, forgave them (Lk. 23:34). As we are in the season of lent, let us pray for a humble heart to imitate Jesus in his love and forgiveness and testify to the fact that we are the children of God. May our mind and heart resonate with the prayer: “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.”
