Temptation works on us because there is truth in it.  Temptation doesn't work for us because there is not enough truth in it.  There is, in temptation, a lie which has been put alongside the truth, to make it plausible and desirable.  We’ll accept the lie if we only see the truth it’s attached to.  So, if we separate out the truth from the lie in any idea we have, then we shall discover the temptation and more often avoid sin. To see how this works in practice, we can take th

We can all recall passages where Jesus calls the Pharisees “hypocrites,” and he uses even stronger names such as “brood of vipers” and “whitened sepulchres.” In today’s Gospel, however, Jesus warns us against name-calling, You have heard how it was said, “Thou shalt not kill,” and anyone who does kill shall answer for it before the court. But I say this to you. Anyone who is angry with his brother shall answer for it before the court. Anyone who calls his brother fool will an

Last Sunday, we heard the beginning of the part of Matthew’s Gospel called the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon takes place in chapters five, six, and seven of this Gospel. St Augustine wrote a profound commentary on this sermon, and in the first lines of this commentary he describes it as “a perfect standard of the Christian life”. In a very real sense, this part of Jesus’s teaching provides us with a perfect guide regarding what it means to be a follower of Christ, that is,