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From: Ezekiel 18:21-28

The Good Effects of Conversion

[21] But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed
and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live;
he shall not die. [22] None of the transgressions which he has committed shall
be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall
live. [23] Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the LORD God,
and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? [24] But when a righ-
teous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does
the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of
the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery
of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.

[25] ”Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel:
Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? [26] When a righteous
man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it;
for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die. [27] Again, when a wicked
man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful
and right, he shall save his life. [28] Because he considered and turned away
from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall
not die."

Commentary:

18:21-32. These verses reply to a question that may arise from the doctrine of
personal retribution: If the sinner must live with the consequences of his sins,
what is the purpose of repentance? Ezekiel takes the question very much to
heart, and his reply includes one of the most beautiful summaries of divine
mercy: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked..., and not rather that
he should turn from his way and live?’ (v. 23; cf. 33:11). It is true that the ex-
planation of divine justice and punishment develops over a long period until
the New Testament is reached; even so, from the very beginning of divine
Revelation, there is never any doubt but that God is always ready to forgive.
Over the centuries, Christian spirituality has written beautiful pages filled to
overflowing with heartfelt trust in God’s mercy. As an example, we will quote
a prayer by a Christian writer of the Armenian Church: “You are the Lord of
Mercy. Have mercy on me, a sinner, who beseeches you with sighs and tears.
[...] O kind and merciful Lord! You are patient with sinners, for you have said:
"if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed none of
the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him"
(Ezek 18:21-22). Look, see how I have come before you and fallen at your feet:
your guilty servant pleads for your mercy. Do not recall my sins, nor spurn me
because of my wickedness [...] You are the Lord of goodness and mercy; you
forgive all sin” (John Mandakuni, "Oratio", 2-3).

Of course, God’s forgiveness is closely interwoven with personal conversion.
Therefore, it is not surprising to find these verses of Ezekiel being quoted in
connection with the need for the sacrament of penance: “at all times, the prac-
tice of penance in order to obtain grace and attain righteousness was neces-
sary for all those who fell into mortal sin, even those who sought to be washed
clean by the waters of baptism, so that, when sinfulness had been purged and
set to rights, they would detest any offense against God through their hatred
of sin and the sorrow of their souls. Thus says the Prophet: 'Repent and turn
from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin' (Ezek 18:30)” (Council
of Trent, Session 14, 1). There is also a need for genuine contrition: “Contrition,
which is the most important element of penance, is a sorrow of the soul, a
hatred of all the sins that have been committed, and a desire not to sin again
in the future. This sense of contrition has always been a fundamental condition
of forgiveness; the man who falls into sin after his baptism can only receive
pardon if he is contrite, trusts in the mercy of God, and fulfills all the other con-
ditions that are binding in this sacrament. This Council declares that contrition
encompasses not only the end of sin and the beginning of new life, but the
reparation of the old, sinful life, as it was written: 'Cast away from you all the
transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a
new heart and a new spirit!' (Ezek 18:31)” (Council of Trent Session 14,4).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 5:20-26

Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [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 lia-
ble 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 to 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.

Commentary:

20. "Righteousness": see the note on Matthew 5:6 (see below). This verse
clarifies the meaning of the preceding verses. The scribes and Pharisees had
distorted the spirit of the Law, putting the whole emphasis on its external, ritual
observance. For them exact and hyper-detailed but external fulfillment of the
precepts of the Law was a guarantee of a person's salvation: "If I fulfill this I am
righteous, I am holy and God is duty bound to save me." For someone with
this approach to sanctification it is really not God who saves: man saves him-
self through external works of the Law. That this approach is quite mistaken
is obvious from what Christ says here; in effect what He is saying is: to enter
the Kingdom of God the notion of righteousness or salvation developed by the
scribes and Pharisees must be rejected. In other words, justification or sancti-
fication is a grace from God; man's role is one of cooperating with that grace by
being faithful to it. Elsewhere Jesus gives the same teaching in an even clearer
way (cf. Luke 18:9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector). It was
also the origin of one of St. Paul's great battles with the "Judaizers" (see Gala-
tians 3 and Romans 2-5).

[Note on Matthew 5:6 states:

6. The notion of righteousness (or justice) in Holy Scripture is an essentially
religious one (cf. notes on Matthew 1:19 and 3:15; Romans 1:17; 1:18-32;
3:21-22 and 24). A righteous person is one who sincerely strives to do the Will
of God, which is discovered in the commandments, in one's duties of state in
life and through one's life of prayer. Thus, righteousness, in the language of the
Bible, is the same as what nowadays is usually called "holiness" (1 John 2:29;
3:7-10; Revelations 22:11; Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 9:4).]

21. Verses 21-26 gives us a concrete example of the way that Jesus Christ
brought the Law of Moses to its fulfillment, by explaining the deeper meaning of
the commandments of that Law.

22. By speaking in the first person ("but I say to you") Jesus shows that His
authority is above that of Moses and the prophets; that is to say, He has divine
authority. No mere man could claim such authority.

"Insults": practically all translations of this passage transcribe the original Ara-
maic word, "raca" (cf. RSV note below). It is not an easy word to translate. It
means "foolish, stupid, crazy". The Jews used it to indicate utter contempt;
often, instead of verbal abuse they would show their feelings by spitting on the
ground.

"Fool" translates an ever stronger term of abuse than "raca"--implying that a
person has lost all moral and religious sense, to the point of apostasy.

In this passage our Lord points to three faults which we commit against charity,
moving from internal irritation to showing total contempt. St. Augustine com-
ments that three degrees of faults and punishments are to be noted. The first is
the fault of feeling angry; to this corresponds the punishment of "judgment". The
second is that of passing an insulting remark, which merits the punishment of
"the council". The third arises when anger quite blinds us: this is punished by
"the hell of fire" (cf. "De Serm. Dom. in Monte", II, 9).

"The hell of fire": literally, "Gehenna of fire", meaning, in the Jewish language
of the time, eternal punishment.

This shows the gravity of external sins against charity--gossip, backbiting,
calumny, etc. However, we should remember that these sins stem from the
heart; our Lord focuses our attention, first, on internal sins--resentment, hatred,
etc.--to make us realize that that is where the root lies and that it is important
to nip anger in the bud.

23-24. Here our Lord deals with certain Jewish practices of His time, and in
doing so gives us perennial moral teaching of the highest order. Christians, of
course, do not follow these Jewish ritual practices; to keep our Lord's command-
ment we have ways and means given us by Christ Himself. Specifically, in the
New and definitive Covenant founded by Christ, being reconciled involves going
to the Sacrament of Penance. In this Sacrament the faithful "obtain pardon from
God's mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time,
reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins" ("Lumen
Gentium", 11).

In the New Testament, the greatest of all offerings is the Eucharist. Although
one has a duty to go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, an
essential condition before receiving Holy Communion is that one be in the
state of grace.

It is not our Lord's intention here to give love of neighbor priority over love of
God. There is an order of charity: "You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the great and
first commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38). Love of one's neighbor, which is the
second commandment in order of importance (cf. Matthew 22:39), derives its
meaning from the first. Brotherhood without parenthood is inconceivable. An
offense against charity is, above all, an offense against God.