Friday, March 11, 2022
Reconciliation
An excerpt from Matthew 5:23-24 (NRSV)
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.
Reflection from Michael Womack,
St. Lawrence Episcopal Church:
Why is it so hard to forgive another or seek forgiveness for oneself?
Ego – on both sides – and the feeling of radical insecurity – that since it happened once it could happen again – whatever the “it” is, with potentially more or less devastating consequences.
And as to the matter of ego, how on earth did I bumble/sin/blow it/fail/screw up/err/miss the mark as badly as I did? Or how did you? – why were you SO incredibly reckless, selfish, or uncaring? Are we, either one of us, just kidding ourselves to think there is a genuine way back from such a slip once admitted – or even worse, a long-standing vice – in either the court of public or private opinion (including my own view of myself)?
These realizations necessarily demand a compassionate understanding, and a realization of just how extremely difficult it is to measure up to being fully human in a fantastically unpredictable world; it is a high, very holy calling.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
For further study and prayer, the readings for today are:
Psalm 27; Genesis 14:17-24; Philippians 3:17-20
MUSIC
“If ye love me”
Thomas Tallis, sung by Tenebrae
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another comforter,
that he may ‘bide with you forever;
E’en the sp’rit of truth.