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“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.” Matthew 5:21–22
The passage quoted above gives us three deepening levels of sin
that we commit against another. These sins were new teachings not
contained in the Old Testament. By this teaching, Jesus’ call to
radical holiness and love of neighbor is made very clear.
The first level of sin is simply to be “angry” interiorly. The sin
of anger is an interior attitude of disgust toward another. Jesus
says that the consequence of having anger toward another is that
you will be “liable to judgment.” The second level of sin is when
you say to another “Raqa.” This Aramaic word is difficult to
translate but would include some form of expression of one’s anger
toward another. It would be a derogatory way of saying to another
that they are unintelligent or inferior. The third level of sin
Jesus identifies is when you call another “fool.” This word is an
even stronger expression of Raqa and would be a verbal
criticism of them, indicating that the person is a lost soul in a
moral sense. It’s a strong moral condemnation of another that is
expressed.
So, do you struggle with anger? Jesus’ calling to freedom from all
levels of this sin is a high one. There are many times in life when
our passion of anger is stirred up for one reason or another, and
that passion leads to one of these levels of sin. It’s a common
temptation to want to condemn another with whom you are angry in
the strongest way possible.
It’s important to understand that this new teaching of Jesus is
truly not a burden when understood and embraced. At first, it can
seem that these laws of our Lord against anger are negative. That’s
because lashing out at another gives a false sense of satisfaction,
and these commands of our Lord, in a sense, “rob” us of that
satisfaction. It can be a depressing thought to think about the
moral obligation to forgive to the point that disordered anger
disappears. But is it depressing? Is this law of our Lord a
burden?
The deep truth is that what Jesus teaches us in this passage is, in
many ways, more for our own good than that of others. Our anger
toward another, be it interior, verbally critical or all-out
condemning, can be hurtful toward the person with whom we are
angry, but the damage these forms of anger do is far worse for us
than them. Being angry, even interiorly, even if we put on a happy
face, does great damage to our soul and our ability to be united to
God. For that reason, it is not this new law of our Lord regarding
anger that is the burden, it is the anger itself that is a heavy
burden and a burden from which Jesus wants you free.
Reflect, today, upon the sin of anger. As you do, try to see your
disordered anger as the real enemy rather than the person with whom
you are angry. Pray to our Lord to free you from this enemy of the
soul and seek the freedom that He wants to bestow.
My merciful Lord, You call us to perfect freedom from all that
burdens us. Anger burdens us. Help me to see the burden that my
anger imposes upon me and help me to seek true freedom through the
act of forgiveness and reconciliation. Please forgive me, dear
Lord, as I forgive all who have hurt me. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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Featured images above: The Sermon on the Mount By Fra
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