Matthew 5:17-37
Jesus is very challenging in today’s Gospel taken from his famous Sermon on the Mount.
He is encouraging us to move away from legalism and get to the heart of his teaching.
One example is the command ‘You must not kill’. We know how wrong it is to take a person’s life but we can also kill someone’s reputation, their trust, their spirit and their dreams by our words and actions leading to a breakdown in our relationship with them. Jesus is asking us to go deeper and to reflect on the power of our words and actions when it comes to our relationships. He is asking us to be in right relationship with one another.
He challenges us to make peace with those we may have fallen out with. When we receive the Eucharist, we celebrate our oneness in Christ and our communion with our brothers and sisters in faith. If we harbour bad feelings and bitterness about someone without some effort to reconcile the situation we are simply going through the motions regarding our religious observances. We are being hypocritical. Not a reality we like to admit.
It is risky and painful to reconcile with someone who has bullied or hurt us or hurt people we love. In my experience I am weary, but I wish I didn’t have to be. Maybe that is a beginning of the healing process and a movement towards reconciliation.
In my experience it is humbling to admit I have been wrong and ask forgiveness. I certainly need God’s help through prayer.
God bless you and strengthen you in the situations you may be dealing with.
Many years ago, I wrote a song for children about reconciliation entitled ‘Sometimes we Fail’ which is featured on the album ‘Movement of Time’. Perhaps it’s time to dust it off and see if it still speaks.