Week 34 Day 3
Finding God in the Mysteries of every day
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Matthew 5 23 ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 ‘Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Reconciliation and restitution are two of the most loaded words in today’s socio political atmosphere. What do they really mean in the Biblical context? One’s mind goes almost immediately to borrowing and lending and the grievance that can arise in the exercise of those activities. Certainly we live in a strange time of people living beyond their means and being driven by acquisitive impulses to the point of madness.
While this passage certainly has that dynamic in mind, there is also the issue of the debt of love, and the breaches of relationship which we seem willing, almost eager to barter away in our headlong rush to “get more stuff”.
When we bring an offering to the Lord we have to ask ourselves, is this offering worthy of Him who died for our sins? I’m not speaking here strictly of monetary offerings I am also speaking of our volunteer efforts to serve, to witness, to come alongside in the prescribed work of the Church. Are our hearts cleansed and in the possession of the Holy Spirit? The Greek word doulas meaning slave is a reflection of the love relationship that can grow between a master and his servant. This is what our relationship to Jesus should look like to the world. Reconciliation and restitution are up to you.
Larry M Lawrence- Mysteries 