reconciliation

Matthew 5:23    " The sin of anger.."
   God is "slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" Psalm 103:8; Micah 7:18 reminds us as well that " He retaineth not His anger forever, but delighteth in mercy.."  We too are commanded to be " slow to anger, slow to wrath.." James 1:19 .  We also are to " let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger.... and evil speaking be put away ..and be ye kind one to another,... forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32
    In today's Gospel we are reminded that we should " first be reconciled to our brother/sister then come and offer our gift at the altar."  Matthew 5:24  Dr. Tasker, an anglican Greek teacher said it this way in his thoughts on this passage, " Conduct is more important than formal worship."
    General McArthur said ,    a peace is more than a truce. " A truce just says you don't shoot for awhile. Peace comes when the truth is known, the issue is settled, and the parties embrace each other."   sermoncentral illustration.
     Of all things we do in our families and in our churches this is probably the hardest.  Jesus talks about anger and the judgment.  He carries the strict code of the law to a further moral duty.  It is not easy to let go of our anger.  An african proverb says , " when elephants fight,  grass gets trampled."  Elephants weigh about 16,534 pounds and drink 30 gallons of water a day. sermon illustrations Rev. Thomas Cash.
     As we come to our Communion we are reminded that we should be what ?  " in love and charity with our neighbors"   Prayer Book, page 75.  Reconciliation is the word used by Jesus here in this passage in Matthew.  It means lit. " to effect an alteration , yielding to mutual concession."
      We cannot force reconciliation but we can be part of it.  We can only try in the power of Christ to offer forgiveness and try and reconcile.  All of us have different talents and abilities.  It takes more than one person to make the ship of the parish go.  The eye is necessary.  The foot is necessary and the hand is necessary.  We are not all the same , but together we can accomplish more. That is what the acronym team can say.  " Together everyone accomplishes more. "  When one member is suffering we should try and find out how we can help.  Sometimes prayer is all that does because direct contact can be painful.
      Our love as the apostle tells us must never give up despite how we are treated or used.  That is our goal.  All of us know people like that in our lives that however we treated them, they still cared and tried to help us.  Even when we pushed them away in our lives , they kept an open door for us to walk right back into.
    The story is told of Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy and US Grant. Both had died, but their widows lived near each other. Julia Grant and Varina Davis became closest of friends.
     What a contradiction to offer gifts at the altar without reconciliation.  God has forgiven us.  We have much to gain and little to lose by reconciling with all.