Be Reconciled

February 12, 2023

Rev. Mary Erickson

Hope Lutheran Church

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 5:21-37

Be Reconciled

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Both of our Bible readings today reflect on the commandments. In the reading from Deuteronomy, Moses and the Israelites stand on the border of the Promised Land. They’ve completed their 40-year exodus journey from Egypt.

Moses assembles the people and addresses them. As they enter into the land of Canaan and settle into their new life, he leaves them with one final exhortation. Before them stretch two pathways. One leads to life and prosperity. The other will direct them to death and adversity.

Walking in God’s pathway, following God’s commands, will lead to life and goodness. But to diverge from that way will only bring them woe. Moses doesn’t say this as a threat: do this or else. He says it merely as a statement of truth.

One of the chief purposes of God’s commandments – the 10 commandments – is to promote life and harmony. They set us in right relationships – with God and with our neighbor. When we live our days according to God’s will for us, then our relationships thrive, they remain healthy. We revere God, we honor our neighbor, treat our neighbor as we ourselves would like to be treated. This sets us on a path of beauty and harmony.

While on their 40-year exodus, the Israelites had received God’s good commandments at Mount Sinai. And now as they prepare to enter into this new life in this new land, Moses exhorts them to walk in God’s pathway for them. “Choose life,” he says. The commandments are life.

Then in our reading from Matthew’s gospel, we encounter Jesus giving his Sermon on the Mount. We hear him expound on the commandments.

Hmm, talking about the commandments, sitting on a mountain, gee, it sounds very similar to the scene on Mount Sinai when God gave the commandments to Moses! But this time, this exhortation on the commandments is coming straight from Jesus’ mouth. And he’s speaking as one with authority:

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times… but I say to you.” He’s proclaiming about the holy commandments on this mountaintop with the authority of God!

Jesus expounds on the commandments. And he takes them beyond the superficial level. In every case, Jesus digs down and reveals the full length and breadth of their reach. For instance, murder isn’t just the taking of a physical life. We can also murder the inner spirit. Calling someone a derogatory name slays them. There aren’t blood and guts, but to demean a person with an offensive name or insult cuts them to the heart. The many ways we can demean a person according to their race or ethnicity, disparaging their gender or gender identity, these things cut us to the quick.

In the other commandments, Jesus broadens the reach of adultery in a way that speaks to our modern-day addiction to pornography. Bearing false witness isn’t just about telling a lie. There aren’t shades of truth or alternative facts.

All of these commands deal with our relationship to our neighbor, the second table of the law. In all things, God intends that we have life, and have it abundantly. This was God’s plan from the beginning of creation. This was God’s plan in revealing the commandments. This was God’s plan in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus our Lord. This was God’s plan through the fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit. THIS IS GOD’S PLAN! Life, life, and abundant life.

God wills that we should dwell in God’s abundant life. The commandments are our pathway. They reveal how our relationships with God and with others can release the fullness of our life together.

And in our life together, Jesus expounds on the importance of reconciliation. He urges us to prioritize mending our broken relationships.

He says, “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.”

In this scenario, offering our gift at the altar is connected to our relationship with God. It’s our worship, it draws us into closer connection with the divine. But Jesus is saying that when we’re out of sorts with our neighbor, mending that rift should take precedence over our connection to God. Our relationship with our neighbor is more weighty than our relationship with God. Or to put it another way, our connection to our neighbor deeply affects our connection to God.

How can you have life and abundantly so if your heart is consumed by anger towards your neighbor? You can’t. Forgiveness frees the granter of forgiveness as much, if not more, than it does the one who is forgiven.