We tend to overlook the smaller sins that we commit everyday unaware.

Sin doesn’t just happen; Unless it is mastered, by God’s grace, it grows like a weed and chokes the fruitful vine.

For God always forgives our sins, thus we should do the same towards our neighbors.

 

St. Polycarp, bishop & martyr

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ezekiel 18:21-28

If the sinner

Turns from his sin, observes my decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live; he will not die. None of the sins he committed will be charged against him; he will live, as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? -word of Yahweh. Do I not, rather, want him to turn from his ways and live?

But if the righteous man turns away from what is good, and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him; but he will die, because of his infidelity and his sins.

 

 

But you say: Yahweh's way is not just! Why, Israel! Is my position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man turns from his righteous deeds, and sins, then he dies, because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes; and turned from the sins he had committed.

 

Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8 If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 5:20-26

I tell you, if your sense of right and wrong is not keener than that of the lawyers and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who murders will have to face trial. But now, I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister is liable to be brought before the council.

 

 

Whoever calls a brother or sister “Fool” is liable to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, in front of the altar; go at once, and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There, you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"True righteousness." 

We are, and we will always be, part of a greater reality. No matter how we deny this fact, the impulse of our deepest self remains. This impulse urges us to relate well. There are times when we tend to ignore the call toward having good relations even in the expressions of our faith. There are times when we experience worshiping the Lord while at the core of our hearts, we know that we are not on good terms with someone. The holy voice from within us invites us to be a bit more astute in our sense of right and wrong, whispering our need to be reconciled with others. 

 

In today's Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples to surpass the righteousness (dikaiosyne) of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. In the Gospel according to Matthew, dikaiosyne is the process by which the disciples will become the children of the heavenly Father. Righteousness is not merely a ritual that will substitute our failed duty to relate well. True righteousness involves being reconciled with one another because the call is to belong to God's family – which is far bigger a reality than the self that merely performs the religious rituals.