Daily Lectionary – May 7, 2020

Morning Psalms 47; 147:12-20

First Reading Exodus 34:1-17

Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 2:13-20

Gospel Reading Matthew 5:21-26

Evening Psalms 68; 113

Matthew 5:21-26

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But 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. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come 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. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Where do you go to be reconciled with your neighbor when the church is locked and you can’t make it to the altar? You go to your friend—or your parent, child, spouse, neighbor, whoever you have wronged—and you ask forgiveness. The point of forgiveness isn’t what happens at the altar but what happens before. In Jesus Christ, you are already reconciled with God. Now you can go say, “I’m sorry.” You have all the time in the world now. What are you waiting for?

God, forgive us. We have been short with one another. We have tried to hide from the hard work of reconciliation, offering love to those with whom we disagree (and, if we’re honest, would rather not have to deal with). But you are patient with us, and in Jesus Christ you love us; so help us to love others, and to offer the forgiveness we have already received, in Christ’s grace. We pray in his name. Amen.

Art: Bruegel, Jan, 1568-1625. Sermon on the Mount, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55346