“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.  “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.  “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:21-26

Bottom Line

The way of Jesus involves practicing reconciliation.

Q&A

• How do you deal with anger towards yourself?
• What does it mean to treat someone like a pagan or tax collector? (Matthew 18:15-17)
• What do you do with people you’re stuck in relationship with (family, coworker, etc.) whom you’ve tried to reconcile and have a better relationship with, but they don’t seem to want to make any changes?
• How should you handle it when someone cuts off contact with you, but you don’t know why?
• Is it ok that some relationships end?
• Does all this talk of forgiveness and reconciliation cause us to ignore the injustices in the world? Shouldn’t we be standing with the marginalized and calling out injustice?
• Do the teachings of Jesus put an unfair burden on victims to bear the responsibility for reconciliation in our broken world?
• How can we take Jesus’ radical teachings on forgiveness seriously and at the same time make sure we’re not causing more harm in the process?

Action Steps

Prayer: Create some space this week with Jesus to prayerfully reflect on the following:

• Where is Jesus inviting you to attend to the anger in your heart?
• Do you have any broken relationships in your life?  What part did you play?
• In what ways could you take initiative to practice reconciliation in the way of Jesus?
  

Practice: Act on anything that bubbles up during your prayerful reflection with Jesus.