Be reconciled with your brother…

The scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the First Week of Lent | USCCB

As we conclude the first week of Lent, our readings are reminding us of our duties and responsibilities towards God and towards our neighbor.

In our first reading, Ezekiel is reminding us to turn away from sin and remain focused on following the commandments of God. The reading from Ezekiel starts with the reminder, “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statues and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” (Ezekiel 18:21) Throughout the old and new testaments, God has given us many ways to know how we can turn from sin and to turn to Him. From the 10 Commandments given to Moses in the old testament to the teachings of Jesus with the Sermon on the Mount in the gospels, we are called to live a life centered on God. We are to turn away from sinfulness and selfishness, and start living in relationship with God, while loving and serving our neighbors.

In our gospel for today, our Lord is reminding us that the commandment of “Thou shalt not kill” is more than just not doing the actual killing of someone. Being angry with our brother falls under this commandment. Our Lord teaches us that “…whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement.” (Matthew 5:22) Jesus goes on to teach us that we should try to resolve our issues with the people in our lives with the love and respect that we have towards God. If we can’t show love, respect and forgiveness towards our neighbor, how can we be show love and respect to God?

There is always that difficulty of forgiving people due to various reasons. We may not like the person we’re supposed to forgive, or there’s some sort of personality conflict between us and the people we should forgive.  St. Teresa of Calcutta says it beautifully: “People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.” In this way we can do as the Lord says in the gospel, before approaching the altar, “go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” This will be pleasing to God.

Finally, when we fall short of being forgiving or loving towards those in our life, let us then turn to God in the sacrament of penance. Through the healing power of confession, we will gain the strength to be loving and forgiving with those in our lives that we may find most difficult to forgive.

Lord God, help us to not only to know, love and serve you with our whole mind, heart and soul, but help us also to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.