Reconcile with One Another
By Lachlan Mackay of Nauvoo, IL, USA
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. —Matthew 5:23–24 NRSV
In an 1894 Saints’ Herald article, then church president Joseph Smith III supported Christ’s message of forgiveness, a critical step in reconciliation, and called on the church to do the same. He had received a letter of complaint stating that he (Joseph) had “joined hands with the persecutors” of the church. His offense was saying “good morning” to an old man sitting in a wheelchair in the shade of the Carthage, Illinois, USA, courthouse.
The old man was Thomas C. Sharp, who decades earlier had been public enemy number one for the church in Nauvoo, Illinois. As editor of the Warsaw Signal newspaper, Sharp had called for the use of powder and ball to be rid of the church community. Some evidence exists to suggest that he was one of the four who shot Joseph’s father. Some members wanted to “cherish resentment” against those who had wronged them. Joseph III reminded the readers of the Herald that following Christ’s example on the cross, they were required to forgive. Joseph III said that he forgave Thomas Sharp and that any judgment to be made was the Lord’s (“Required to Forgive,” Saints’ Herald, March 21, 1894, pp. 178–79). Life is filled with opportunities to judge. Let us instead choose to forgive and reconcile with one another.
Prayer Phrase
God is with us.
Invitation to Spiritual Practice
Holy Attention
Ordinary time is a season for awakening to God’s presence in all the details and circumstances of our everyday, ordinary lives. Wherever you are, pay attention to your surroundings. Allow yourself to be fully present for a time with whatever is before you. Where do you sense God with you right now exactly where you are?
How does today’s story invite you to discover God in the realities of your everyday life?
Today’s Prayer for Peace
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