IT IS THE HEART THAT WILL CARRY US THROUGH INTO THE RACE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

MARCH 18, 2011

by Lorenz S. Centino, Jr.

MATTHEW 5: 20 - 26 

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:

A BLESSED FRIDAY TO ALL!

SUCCESS is something that motivates and fires up people to give their best at anything they are involved in. It is like a torch lighted in the Olympics which inspires every athlete to prove the fruits of their trainings and workouts by translating them into laurels of a champion. However, success is often gauged or measured by TROPHIES, MEDALS, CERTIFICATES, PLAQUES, CROWNS, etc. But this is only one side of the face of success. These measurements make success viewed more on as consensus of “judges.” Success becomes an APPPROVAL based on EXTERNAL MANIFESTATIONS of EXPECTED OUTCOMES or INDICATORS that at certain times can be TWISTED or ALTERED, or the acclaimed and declared winner could have CHEATED. They could appear playing fairly, but deep down in their hearts they know that they are doing something “wrong” or “irregular” that will ascertain their victory.

In the Gospel today Jesus delivers a very strong warning, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus used the Pharisees as a yardstick in making people understand how they can enter the kingdom of heaven that is based on TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS. The Scribes and Pharisees, most especially the Pharisees, are known to be the strict observers of their law and tradition. This makes the Pharisees consider themselves as the “holy ones” or “righteous ones” of Israel. They somehow claim, and too proud for it, to pass the yardstick of success for holiness. For them the way to the kingdom of God is the OBEDIENCE to the LAW to its LETTER and by performing faithfully the OUTWARD EXPRESSIONS of their traditions. This makes the Pharisees very rigid unto others and, thus, fault-finders. They are very judgmental upon others, except to themselves. Because of this, Jesus unmasked and corrected their HYPOCRISY and SELF-DESIGNED RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jesus is showing to us that “outward actions” are not enough to make one good because what is in the HEART can make the act become empty of righteousness and integrity. The heart is the core-fount of our intentions and desires that are carried out and manifested in our choices and deeds. It is the heart that understands the SPIRIT of the law and makes choices for it or against it. We may do what appears to be “good” but have kept something “EVIL” in our hearts for doing it. Therefore, Jesus is asking us to check the CONTENT of our HEARTS and not only the EXTERNAL APPEARANCE of our deeds. Jesus chided the Pharisees to be “clean” from the “the outside” but so “rotten inside.” For this Jesus really condemn them with contempt, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation…. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:14, 27).

And so in the Gospel today Jesus have shown to us how the CONTENT of our HEART makes us become more evil than our acts. Jesus corrected that it is not only the act of killing that one can be liable to judgment but even the anger (expressed in action by killing or in words through insult) in one’s heart makes one be liable to condemnation. If we really want to be successful in the race of entering into the kingdom of God, we must not just be concerned with our outward actions of complying with rule of the game—doing what appears is good. We must have the GODLY ORIENTATION and RIGHTEOUSNESS of the HEART that will give the true value of our actions to be worthy of praise by God, the ultimate Judge, who will give the TROPHY of SALVATION at the finish line of the race!