Sixth Sunday after Trinity -Rev'd Paul Taylor, LL.M.
Revised 2005
Readings: Romans 6: 3-11 and Matthew 5: 20-26

The language used in the gospel lesson needs to be explained.
In ancient Hebrew raca means 'you blockhead'. It was a term of utter contempt.
A fool is an unbeliever. It was the worst thing you could say to a Jew. It was to trash him and hence in the original the reference to the dump that burned day and night. It is also a slang for hell or hell fire as see saw in todays lesson
The Sanhedren was a ruling body that also had the power to judge.

Jesus bluntly tells us that "Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of God." The scribes and pharisees kept the law literally; no more, no less. Jesus is saying, "there's more to it than that; much more than that." So, He talks about attitudes that you and I might have whereby we offend God and commit sin, not necessarily through an act, but even by the thought or word. This in itself can and should be seen as sinful. ". . .What I say to you is everyone who grows angry with his brother shall be liable to the judgment. Any man who uses abusive language toward his brother shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin and he who says thou fool trashes him and holds him in contempt, he risks the fires of hell or in the original gehenna.

Jesus is saying, "This is not the way that a Christian will behave toward another Christian in this new kingdom according to this new law."


Today as we offer this Eucharist and we offer ourselves, souls and
bodies, to God our Father, through and with Christ, let us remember that
one part of our body, that is, our tongue. Let us offer our tongues to
God, that they will be used only in praise of him.