Word to the Wise
Friday, March 2, 2007 - Friday of the First Week of Lent
[Ezekiel 18:21-28 and Matthew 5:20-26]Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother or sister has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Imagine the size of the warehouses we would have to build to hold the "unoffered gifts!" Those warehouses would stand as eloquent testimony to the difficulty of forgiveness and reconciliation. One can imagine someone thinking, "There are so many people I've offended at one time or another, I don't stand a chance at offering anything!" My suggestion is, "Start with one of them!" Lent is an opportunity to reduce the "unoffered gifts" in our life. Remember the words of The Lord's Prayer about forgiving if we expect to be forgiven. Unloading the baggage of the past can make the future much lighter. And our liturgically-expressed faith offers us a BIG season each year to do that. Start with one of them. AMEN