9-5-2024

Good Morning All,

    Matt. 6:23-24; “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

    Festering problems are the worst kind of problems.  We let them simmer and steep in the back of our minds and in the depths of our hearts.  Whether we are harboring them against someone, or someone has something that they have against us.  Festering problems can grow.  The Hatfield and the McCoy feud involved the ownership of a pig. A number of years ago a man in southern South Dakota shot and killed a father and a son over a drainage dispute. Festering problems cost real people their lives.

     Most of our festering problems do not elevate into bloodshed but they often elevate into hatred or distrust, jealousy, or contempt.  Yet these cause us to struggle in our lives and do damage to our faith.  It is difficult to love Christ and hate our neighbor.  The apostle John tells us in his first epistle that it is impossible.  We cannot say we love Jesus but hate our neighbor; it doesn’t work this way.  Even if we see it as “holy anger;” it is not our place to judge that alone belongs to God.  Rather we must stop the problem before it festers and causes troubles.

    This is what Jesus is teaching us in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is teaching us that as his disciples we are to follow him faithfully in word and deed.  We are to show the same love for others which Christ showed for us.  Can we, do it?  No, not really, because we are still sinful in nature.  We will still have days when we are angry at our spouse or our children or co-worker or neighbor.  We are still going to be mad when the neighbor’s cows get into our corn.  But let it pass, don’t let it fester go and reconcile with your neighbor.  And if it was your cows; go to your neighbor and reconcile the issue.  Remember that as you solve your problems that the love of Christ is present in your words, your actions and in your life. 

    Notice how important God views the need for us to reconcile with our brothers.  We are not to do it immediately after our offering; we are to do it before we make the offering.  Before we offer to God our praise and thanksgiving we are to reconcile with our brother.  Reconciliation with our neighbor is a major part of our faith.  Jesus reconciled us back to God, so we are to reconcile our brothers back to us.  If we look at the sin of Adam and Eve as a rupture in the relationship between man and God, the very next story recorded is the murder of Abel by Cain.  This is the rupture in the relationship between men.  It was this rupture that caused people to build cities and nations, not out of love but out of fear and jealousy.  It is this rupture that causes the world to spend more on armaments and standing armies than on taking care of those who need help.  Jesus calls upon us to reconcile with our brother, one at a time, rebuilding our relationships on love and trust and not fear and jealousy.

 Lord, let our memory provide no shelter for grievance against each other.  Let our heart provide no harbor for hatred of each other.  Let our tongue be no accomplice in the judgment of each other.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret