February 23rd Lenten Reflection

Matthew 5:20–26

Jesus said, “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 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. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Reflection by The Rev. Brian Gross

Each Sunday we offer to each other the words of peace. I begin with saying “The peace of the Lord be always with you” and everyone responds with “and also with you.” Here in the reading today we find that the reason we say this is not for it to be a conversation starter but rather as a time of reconciliation. When we come to the rail each Sunday, we come there to exchange gifts. We offer ourselves as a gift to God and we receive in return the gift of Jesus in the bread and wine. Jesus wants us to come to that place having no malice towards others and having made every attempt for others not to have malice towards us. Granted we cannot control how others feel about us but certainly if we have wronged another and they are rightfully upset with us then we should make amends. As we hold our hands out to receive the body of Christ, we are reminded that we are part of the body of Christ, and we should not bring to that communion ill will towards another part of the body. Though mostly symbolic because not everyone we know is in church, the time that we share the peace with each other each Sunday is the time that we are asked to make peace with each other. Perhaps we should greet each other with that same peace all the rest of the days of the week as well.