‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; 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.Let me start by saying I was having a bad morning today. I try very hard to get my thoughts written here before I need to get ready for work but today, as is evident by the time of this posting, that was just not going to be possible. Let me also say that that was a good thing.
Yesterday my thoughts were on loving your enemy and how a simple act of kindness shown to someone you don't like can lead to a better relationship. Today I saw the perfect example on how that act of kindness was used to repair a friendship.
It just so happened that the boy I had "forced" to give help and the girl whom he helped and seriously disliked were at one time best of friends; albeit not boyfriend/girlfriend. Two years ago a situation came up where the girl had said something that wasn't true about the boy which resulted in him getting into a lot of trouble at home. That trouble at home worsened because the girl stuck to her story and refused to take responsibility for her actions, choosing instead to let her friend take the fall. They had actually stopped talking to each other for over a year, until the other day when he helped her with the simple act of logging her on to a computer so she could finish her project.
our reading for today once again finds us in the Beatitudes where Jesus is teaching the old ways are not valid anymore and that what needs to be understood is that there is a new way; a way God has always intended for us. In the above teaching Jesus compares anger between two people to murder. At first reading I was a little shocked at this comparison, but the more familiar I became with it the more I understood this has nothing to do with being treated like a murderer for being angry, but rather to fix the things that cause division between ourselves and those around us.
In the story about the two friends who had been divided and now reconciled we see a perfect example of what Jesus is talking about. A simple act of kindness, a whispered "I'm sorry", and a willingness to let go of the anger and hate that separates you from someone else is all you need to begin rebuilding a lost relationship.
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