Paternoster rosary 4.4 - Matthew 5:23 - 24

I normally only use this passage when I'm praying five passages per round [as per Dominican rosary] or wanting a change from one of the other four. This is mainly because the main gist of the passage can be found in the previous one [4.3]. However there are some considerations that this one brings that are worth reflecting on over and above the issue of forgiving others.

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.

When I reflect on this passage as part of praying the Lord's prayer, I tend to focus not so much on the principle of forgiving others which is implicit in the previous passage as well as the this section of the Lord's prayer ["Forgive ... as we forgive ..."] as on the idea of reconciliation which is more active than simply attitudinal. It drives me to consider both an urgency about taking steps to be reconciled: don't put off to tomorrow what can be done today and the importance to God; it's something that ranks above specifically religous acts, as if God in Christ is saying, "don't make me an excuse for not doing right by your neighbour."

I am reminded of the story told about Festo Kivengere the former Anglican archbishop of Uganda, who it is said one day had an argument with his wife which led to him leaving for a church event in a state of some enmity with her. As he was leaving he sensed God's urging to be reconciled with her before he left, but protested that he would be late for the meeting. He then felt that God was saying in effect, "You go on then, I'll stay here with your wife." That stopped him in his tracks and he went back to her.

Sometimes it may not be possible or appropriate to act in total conformity with this plan, but the principles of urgency and not waiting for the other to act (note, it's if 'your brother or sister has something against you' not the other way round). You may need to wait for them to wake up as a phone call that wakes them in the wee small hours may be counterproductive of reconciliation. You may have to simply try to make it known that you are seeking reconciliation because at that point they do not wish to be reconciled (Paul in Romans wisely adds 'so far as it depends on you ...'). So I tend to take this as a call to reflect on whether there is any unfinished reconciliation business and to plan how I am going to take it forward and even to ask God's help in carrying it forward. Sometimes that may mean making a phone call straight away. But it should not be vague, rather specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-defined. This is part of our prayer: to plan such things in the acknowledged presence of God. This is part of forgiving and being forgiven. God did not simply have forgiving dispositions towards us, but actively embodied and suffered loss in order to effect reconciliation with being who frankly often don't give a damn ... Now there's a thought.
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