I’ve always had a fascination with words. And that was the frame of mind I was in one day when I read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Most of us know this portion of scripture; we even have parts of it memorized. But it’s a long sermon, and it’s easy to overlook a part or two.
The passage that caught my attention was Matthew 5:23-24: ““Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
I noticed something when I read that. “If you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to them.” Not if I have something against them, but if they have something against me. That’s not about me forgiving others. It’s about seeking forgiveness from them.
I know we’re supposed to forgive people. That’s in the very same sermon as the verses I just quoted. It’s part of the prayer we recite every Sunday: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Forgiving others is what the Christian life is all about.
Seeking forgiveness from others, though, is tougher. That involves taking reconciliation out of my hands and placing it in other hands. That involves risk. Suppose the other person is still angry with me? Even worse, suppose they don’t even know I’ve wronged them? Am I just opening up a can of worms just to assuage my own feelings?
It’s complicated. And if we take Jesus seriously, it’s a priority. God wants reconciliation before He wants sacrifice. He doesn’t want sacrifice until He’s got reconciliation. Samuel told the same to Saul. Micah told it to Israel. And Paul told it to all of us in 1 Corinthians 13.
People came to Jesus to settle their disputes. One man asked him to force his brother to share their inheritance. James and John wanted places at his right and left hand. We still call on Jesus to be our Tie Breaker, to settle our disputes, to prove our side right. But Jesus isn’t into breaking ties. He calls us to re-establish them.
That’s the heart of the outreach programs we have as Presbyterians. To reach out to people with whom we have no ties and tie ourselves to them. To tie the needy to the affluent, the marginalized to the mainstream, the judged to the judgmental. And to tie us all to the One who made us.
Lanin Thomasma, Ruling Elder
Steelville Presbyterian Church
