Make Reconciliation with Others

For the season of Lent I'll be sharing devotions from Grace Lutheran's devotional book: "Forgiven." 

While these devotions are not my words and may not represent my own faith or theological understanding, they are valuable personal faith perspectives of 40 of Grace's members and I am so grateful for their generosity in sharing them.

Part Three: Telling the Story & Naming the Hurt

Matthew 5:21-26 (make reconciliation with others)

 “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
In this passage Jesus brings a fuller, deeper meaning to the sixth commandment—going beyond the literal interpretation of the law which states, “Do not murder (kill)”. Like the Pharisees, we could smugly say, “that doesn’t apply to me”. I think Jesus is calling the crowd, his followers & us to take a deeper look at two issues that apply across the board to everyone. The first is the feelings of anger—a common human emotion—that no one is exempt from. From a physiological standpoint, anger is a universal built-in response to distress—physical or emotional. As a human emoIon it is not morally wrong. It is a response to a stressor. I’ve heard it said that anger is a quantitative issue. So if we unwittingly we carry many layers of stress/distress for an extended period of time without an opportunity for some form of release we can go from cranky to irritable to rage very quickly—and wonder how we got there. Or maybe we have a long fuse but unconsciously hang onto fear & negative emotions that leads to resentment. But emotion does not stand alone. Our thinking precedes our feelings (and our actions as well) & this is, I think, is what Jesus is calling us to examine. Without awareness, attitudes have the potential for being a breeding ground for anger & its deleterious effects. What kind of thoughts are we carrying around in our head? Do we hold onto resentment? Can we admit if our thoughts are narrow-minded, biased or distorted? Can we admit when we are wrong? The second issue that Jesus talks about is reconciliation. The dictionary defines reconciliation as reuniting, restoring friendly relations, bringing back together. Anger (in all its degrees) separates. In ancient times, if you committed murder, your adversary could deliver you to the judge for imprisonment where you may die. In the same way, on a deeper level, if we are not growing love in our attitudes we will surely die spiritually. Unresolved anger could be one roadblock to our spiritual growth.

 Prayer:
Jesus, our Teacher, our Way-shower, you intimately know what it is to be human. You understand us. In addition you are the ultimate reconciler. Let your spirit fill us with your light. Help us to be honest with you about our feelings & leads us in healthy, loving thoughts. Holy Spirit, let us see clearly so that we may authentically love others. Teach us to not respond reactively when others are angry with us but to extend understanding & compassion working to rebuild broken bonds of relationship.
Amen
~ Kathy

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