Reconcile

Epiphany 6A, 2/16/14
Matthew 5:21-37

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, you are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

         And also with you.

This is more than just a greeting. It’s more than just a churchy way of saying hello to each other in worship.

The peace comes at the end of the Service of the Word and just before the Service of the Meal. It comes after we have heard Scripture, which includes words of grace and forgiveness and calls to action. It comes after we have had Confession, when we do that as part of worship. The passing of the peace comes before we offer our gifts to God, and before we share a meal together.

The peace happens right before we approach the altar.

“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

Wishing peace to our sisters and brothers in Christ means that we are reconciled with them and we can all approach the Lord’s Table together.  

According to one manual on worship, exchanging the peace “is a gesture of mutual acceptance and forgiveness rooted in a shared humanity and the bonds forged by baptism.”

We have, built into our worship, a time to put aside our anger with our brother or sister, to be reconciled to them, and then to come worship God together.

It is so easy for us to become angry with one another. Many of us are impatient, short-tempered, stubborn or close-minded.

We know this about ourselves – it’s not something we seriously talk about very often, but it’s true. Our society has placed some value on being stubborn… though we call it strong-willed.    American individualism has spawned an entire nation of people who are convinced they are right, and who are willing to go to great lengths to prove the right-ness of their own viewpoints.

For the most part, we – in this case, I’m referring to the majority of Americans, present company included – we would rather argue to get our own way than give in to someone else and take the blow to our ego.

We need to find regular opportunities to put aside that anger, to resolve our arguments, to offer God’s peace to each other and really to mean it.

That is why we share God’s peace with one another in the middle of worship.

And it is then, after we have settled our differences, that we are welcomed to God’s table as a single family.

Jesus says “that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment. 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.”

I’m reminded of the messages that the Old Testament prophets spoke over and over and over again. Basically, the prophets say, your worship doesn’t matter to God at all unless you are also living your life according to God’s commands.

From the book of Amos: I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. (5:20-24)

Your church can have the best music program, the most beautiful sanctuary, articulate readers and graceful worship assistants, your offering plate could be overflowing each week and your pastor could be the most eloquent in the world – but none of it matters. It is all    meaningless,    unless you are also living every moment of your life in accordance with God’s laws.

And the prophets weren’t minimalists when it came to interpreting the laws, either. You can take each of the negative commandments and turn it into a positive, and that would be more in the spirit of the law. And that’s what the prophets do.

So “do not murder” becomes “give life.”

The prophets continually urge the people to prioritize the poor, to give shelter to the homeless and food to the hungry. Doing so is choosing life, and choosing life is following the commandment not to murder.

“Do not commit adultery” becomes “support your spouse and encourage healthy marriages among other people you know.”

When we talked about this commandment with the confirmation kids, one example we used was, if your best friend is married to the most awesome woman in the world and you’re jealous of him and wish she had married you instead – figure out a way to support him in his marriage anyway. Encourage him to do all those things that you know will make her never want to leave him. That is honoring their marriage, and honoring marriage is following the commandment against adultery.

“Do not bear false witness against your neighbor” becomes “believe the best of your neighbor and come to her defense when necessary.”

This one is also related to Jesus’ warning against anger today. When you’re angry with someone, you’re liable to say mean things about him. But that would be breaking this commandment. So don’t say those things. In fact, it’s better if you just don’t get mad at your neighbor to begin with.

Jesus is following in a long line of prophets who have been telling the people of Israel for generations, your interpretation of God’s law is too narrow.

You nitpick your way down to figuring out which syllable of the law can be interpreted differently to let you get away with something – it’s like trying to get a murderer off on a technicality.

You claim to be following the law, but you’re really just manipulating it for your own purposes. The people’s tendency is to be too easy on themselves.

But Jesus and the prophets say, no. That’s not what the law was intended to do.

Your over-interpretation is destroying the spirit of the law.

A few verses earlier, Jesus assures the crowds that he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”

The fulfillment of the law is to follow it fully, respectfully, completely, and even to over-achieve at living according to what the law teaches.

Jesus gives us several examples today about how to follow not just the letter, but also the spirit of the law. I’m sticking to the first one, because it’s something I know we have all experienced.

You have heard it said do not murder. But I say to you, anger can be just as bad.

Anger is something we can all relate to.

It’s something that is pervasive in so many people’s lives, and that we simply can’t escape.

Anger will cause us to sin. On its own, anger may not always be sin, but anger does keep us separate from our neighbor and therefore from God. Anger leads to sin so easily, that we should simply avoid it altogether.

This idea isn’t unique to Jesus or the prophets.

The Dalai Lama tells us, “in daily human contact, if we talk seriously, using reasons, there is no need to feel anger. We can argue the points. When we fail to prove with reason, then anger comes. When reason ends, then anger begins. Therefore, anger is a sign of weakness.”       (http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/anger.html)

Anger is weakness.

Anger leads to sin.

And so, before you come to worship, put aside your anger. Be reconciled to your sister or brother, and then you can come into God’s presence as a whole person, ready to receive everything God has to offer.

Wish the best for your neighbor, do everything in your power to help them feel the presence of God and experience the peace of Christ.

You know, a number of years ago I had some serious issues with a pastor in this synod. We had clashed, probably because we are both rather [ahem] strong-willed. We each thought that our point of view was the right one, and that the other’s point of view was diametrically opposed to our own.

It was a rough couple of years.

But through the course of some good dialogue, an openness to listening to other points of view, and a mediated discussion or two, we were finally able to reconcile with one another. We didn’t necessarily agree on every point that had caused the conflict in the first place, but we had been able to say that those differences didn’t have to be divisive. We could remain in Christian community together, because we were able to respect one another as colleagues and – more importantly – as children of God.

It’s a good thing that we were able to figure out how to live in relationship with one another, because that pastor and I now work together on a regular basis. And as I’m sure you’ve noticed, we get along just fine now! This pastor came to our Harvest Dinner just a few weeks after she started her term. She and I are friends on Facebook – now that’s true reconciliation!

This pastor and I are now able to say to one another, peace be with you – and really mean it. We can worship together as sisters because we no longer have that disagreement hanging over our heads.

Those are the sorts of conflicts that Jesus warns against in the Gospel today. Anger against another person will keep us from full participation in worship with other Christians. In order to truly follow God’s commandments, we must find ways to live with one another that honor the spirit of the law – ways that give life.

Anger separates us from God just as much as murder does.

Anger is a big deal.

Anger keeps us separate from God, and prevents us from fully being able to receive the grace that God offers to us in word and sacrament.

And so, every Sunday, we have a chance to be reconciled to one another. We don’t just take a break to say hello to our neighbor in the middle of worship – we really take the time to wish one another the peace of Christ. You can’t maintain anger against someone who you truly wish to experience God’s peace.

Our worship is set up to help us follow Jesus’ teachings. When we get to that point in a few minutes, I hope you will take the greeting seriously, and honor it for what it really is – a chance to deepen our worship life together.

But for now…

The peace of the Lord be    with    you. 

Amen.