Jesus said, “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.” Matthew 5:23-24
I recently read a book where the writer described a serious falling-out he had with a colleague. They disagreed so furiously that the relationship between them effectively ended; for years they had no contact. Then one day he received a letter from the other man suggesting it would be good to get back in touch - a first step towards reconciliation, in effect.
He was struck, and humbled, by the way the other man had behaved. He immediately wrote back, offering an apology for his own attitude and agreeing to the suggestion of them meeting.
A story with a happy ending? Well, sort of - except for just one thing. Between the day he posted his letter and the day it arrived at his former colleague’s house... the colleague died. His wife-now-widow picked it up unopened from the door-mat.
How sad are those words... too late.
“There’s no time like the present,” goes the saying. And it’s true in all sorts of situations.
Jesus highlights it even in the context of worship. You want to go to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice? he says. Good! But suppose you’re right there, at the altar of sacrifice in the temple, and the priest is about to wield the knife, and you suddenly remember you are at loggerheads with someone... what then? I’ll tell you what then, says Jesus: “leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to them...”
In practical terms Jesus’s advice seems impossible. Suppose the other person lives twenty or thirty miles away? - you really can’t leave your live animal untended while you hurry off to do what’s necessary. The priest might well have objections! - and what if, having reached the other person’s house, you find they aren’t there anyway?
But the point Jesus is making is absolutely clear: nothing - not even an act of sacred worship - matters more than mending a broken relationship. Indeed, we might go further and say that all our praying and singing and Bible-reading are a complete waste of time if there is anger or bitterness in our hearts: they leave God stone-cold. See what he says to the outwardly devout but inwardly corrupt Israelites: “I hate, I despise your religious festivals: your assemblies are a stench to me... Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river...” (Amos 5:21-24). Hate... despise... stench... strong words, no?
I wonder if this a word to some of us? Any of us harbouring resentment? Any of us nursing grudges? The fact is that resentments can only fester the longer they are harboured, and grudges can only harden the longer they are nursed.
We may say, and quite rightly, “But he/she was more at fault than I was! It’s up to them to hold out the olive-branch!” But the way of Christ is to take the initiative ourselves, however innocent we may feel we are. It was, after all, “while we were still sinners” that Christ died for us - he didn’t wait for us to say sorry. No, it was what he did on the cross that brought us to repentance.
(Of course, if we take the initiative and the other person refuses to be reconciled, well, there’s not much more we can do except pray for them. But we have done the Christlike thing. Even God cannot force us to accept his grace. )
I said earlier that the saying “No time like the present” applies in all sorts of situations. Well, perhaps we aren’t in a poisoned relationship with someone. But what about a debt that we owe? Have we let it get long overdue? What about a need we have seen in someone’s life, and often said to ourselves, “I really ought to do something about that. I really must get round to it”?
I have to admit that I am a great putter-offer. My motto (if you wanted to be unkind - though, I’m afraid, probably honest) could very well be “Why do today something you can put off till tomorrow?”. Perhaps you’re a bit like that too.
The fact is that if there is a kind word to be spoken, the time to speak it is today, and if there is an act of kindness to be shown, the time to show it is now.
Or, as the man who wrote that book learned, it may just be too late.
Heavenly Father, forgive me my sins of omission - the good deeds delayed or not done at all, the words of truth not spoken, the responsibilities shirked, the opportunities missed. Please help me to walk daily in time to the beat of your drum. Amen.
I recently read a book where the writer described a serious falling-out he had with a colleague. They disagreed so furiously that the relationship between them effectively ended; for years they had no contact. Then one day he received a letter from the other man suggesting it would be good to get back in touch - a first step towards reconciliation, in effect.
He was struck, and humbled, by the way the other man had behaved. He immediately wrote back, offering an apology for his own attitude and agreeing to the suggestion of them meeting.
A story with a happy ending? Well, sort of - except for just one thing. Between the day he posted his letter and the day it arrived at his former colleague’s house... the colleague died. His wife-now-widow picked it up unopened from the door-mat.
How sad are those words... too late.
“There’s no time like the present,” goes the saying. And it’s true in all sorts of situations.
Jesus highlights it even in the context of worship. You want to go to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice? he says. Good! But suppose you’re right there, at the altar of sacrifice in the temple, and the priest is about to wield the knife, and you suddenly remember you are at loggerheads with someone... what then? I’ll tell you what then, says Jesus: “leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to them...”
In practical terms Jesus’s advice seems impossible. Suppose the other person lives twenty or thirty miles away? - you really can’t leave your live animal untended while you hurry off to do what’s necessary. The priest might well have objections! - and what if, having reached the other person’s house, you find they aren’t there anyway?
But the point Jesus is making is absolutely clear: nothing - not even an act of sacred worship - matters more than mending a broken relationship. Indeed, we might go further and say that all our praying and singing and Bible-reading are a complete waste of time if there is anger or bitterness in our hearts: they leave God stone-cold. See what he says to the outwardly devout but inwardly corrupt Israelites: “I hate, I despise your religious festivals: your assemblies are a stench to me... Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river...” (Amos 5:21-24). Hate... despise... stench... strong words, no?
I wonder if this a word to some of us? Any of us harbouring resentment? Any of us nursing grudges? The fact is that resentments can only fester the longer they are harboured, and grudges can only harden the longer they are nursed.
We may say, and quite rightly, “But he/she was more at fault than I was! It’s up to them to hold out the olive-branch!” But the way of Christ is to take the initiative ourselves, however innocent we may feel we are. It was, after all, “while we were still sinners” that Christ died for us - he didn’t wait for us to say sorry. No, it was what he did on the cross that brought us to repentance.
(Of course, if we take the initiative and the other person refuses to be reconciled, well, there’s not much more we can do except pray for them. But we have done the Christlike thing. Even God cannot force us to accept his grace. )
I said earlier that the saying “No time like the present” applies in all sorts of situations. Well, perhaps we aren’t in a poisoned relationship with someone. But what about a debt that we owe? Have we let it get long overdue? What about a need we have seen in someone’s life, and often said to ourselves, “I really ought to do something about that. I really must get round to it”?
I have to admit that I am a great putter-offer. My motto (if you wanted to be unkind - though, I’m afraid, probably honest) could very well be “Why do today something you can put off till tomorrow?”. Perhaps you’re a bit like that too.
The fact is that if there is a kind word to be spoken, the time to speak it is today, and if there is an act of kindness to be shown, the time to show it is now.
Or, as the man who wrote that book learned, it may just be too late.
Heavenly Father, forgive me my sins of omission - the good deeds delayed or not done at all, the words of truth not spoken, the responsibilities shirked, the opportunities missed. Please help me to walk daily in time to the beat of your drum. Amen.
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