"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder.'"

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

- Matthew 5:21-26

In this weeks' readings, we are working our way through the start of the Sermon on the Mount. We began with the Beatitudes, and continued with You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." He taught that nothing will pass from the law until all is fulfilled. Preparing us for the commandments He gives, He taught, "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'" Jesus begins His treatment of the fulfillment of the Law by starting with the statute against murder, as given by Moses. He will elaborate, giving His new commandments.

"But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." Jesus' commandments reach into the depths of the heart, what is within us. What is it to be angry without a cause? My study bible says, "As the Old Law is fulfilled in the New Law, so human nature is healed by Christ." It contrasts sinful anger, described here, with righteous indignation. This type of anger is a kind of murder; it is, perhaps, where murder and violence begin.

"And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire." My study bible says, "The council is the supreme legal body among the Jews. Hell (or Gehenna in the Greek) is the final condition of sinners who resist God's grace." "Raca" means literally "empty head;" the word used here in the Greek is the root of "moron." So both of these insults described here demean the person, rather than a focus on an offending behavior. Insults unnecessarily provoke more anger, leading to an escalation of a problem rather than its healing or resolution.

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." This is a recipe for reconciliation that places the burden of reconciliation upon the one who offends. It is up to us to watch our own insulting behavior - anger without a cause - and to do something about it. Without at least an effort to reconcile, our gifts on the altar, it implies, are not sincere.

"Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny." My study bible notes that Luke puts this teaching in the context of the end of the age. But here Matthew applies it to ideas of reconciliation. Both contexts have meaning and values. Applied here, it tells us of the problem of escalating anger, wounds that are allowed to be deepened and grow. Anger creates a danger. In Psalm 4:4, we read: "Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still." St. Paul will will quote this line from the Psalm, and tell us (in Ephesians 4:26): "'Be angry, and do not sin'; do not let the sun go down on your wrath."

Christ takes the law against murder, and magnifies the inner life, teaching us about the power of our emotions, what is in the heart. Anger is an especially problematical state, for it may lead to violence, and it may do, within us, a violence in the heart, something that skews our relationships with others. Note that He also warns against insults that provoke anger in others, and the need for the offender to attempt to reconcile. In that provoking anger lies the problem -- because it deepens what may start out small in the heart, and creates a larger problem out of it, extending it to others without an attempt for reconciliation. An insult will simply fan the flames. Later on, Jesus will give us a recipe for reconciliation when there is a true offense, and what to do when an honest attempt to reconcile and openly discuss the problem fails to resolve the circumstance. But in His fulfillment of the law here, Jesus clearly gives us a picture of where sin may begin, and how. Rather than a mere prohibition of an end act, of murder, Jesus asks us to examine behavior from a much deeper perspective, a level of personal responsibility for our conduct. This is discipleship, an awareness of who and what we are, so that we know what we do in response. Being aware of our feelings and how we respond to them is all a part of the package. We note that in the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Here, He ties the reconciliation with God (our gift on the altar) to that peace we bring with us in the world, to others. How does God's peace inform you in your life?