Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130; Matthew 5:20-26
It’s no accident that we read these passages at the beginning of Lent. It’s easy to give up chocolate or meat for 40 days; it may be pleasing to pray more. But Jesus reminds us that we cannot really get closer to God while we’re carrying a bundle of resentment. All the prayers in the world will not cross the gulf dividing us from God if we continue to hate our neighbor. If I do not forgive, my anger keeps me from God. If I need to apologize and do not, if I need to make reparation and fail to, it will fester in me. Often my own failures show up for me in my resentment of others: when I really track down a resentment, so often I’m defending myself against my own guilt.
This includes sins of omission as well as commission. Perhaps I failed to acknowledge and thank someone who deserves it. Then my guilty conscience leads me to avoid them, adding injury onto to insult. They may become resentful, and then we’re both in trouble!
Ezekiel reminds us that the crucial time is now. If I have lived a righteous life, it will not be used to balance a ledger when I fail. St. Peter is not standing with an account book when I die. I live in God, or die to God, each moment. When I turn back, my sins are forgiven. But the opposite is also true: my past virtuous actions do not mitigate my current sins!
Now is the acceptable time. Turn to your neighbor, and be reconciled. Then come and offer your gift.
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