Reconciliation

Reconciliation.  What does it mean to be reconciled to another?  To God?

According to Dictionary.com: 

reconcile  (ˈrɛkənˌsaɪl) 

 1. to make (oneself or another) no longer opposed; cause to acquiesce in something unpleasant: she reconciled herself to poverty
 2. to become friendly with (someone) after estrangement or to re-establish friendly relations between (two or more people) 
3.  to settle (a quarrel or difference) 
4. to make (two apparently conflicting things) compatible or consistent with each other

  [C14: from Latin reconciliāre  to bring together again, from re-  + conciliāre  to make friendly, conciliate ]

And then we have the Book of Common Prayer; Holy Eucharist Prayer C:

“Again and again, you have called us to return.  Through prophets and sages you revealed your righteous Law.  And in the fullness of time you sent your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us the way of freedom and peace. 

By his blood, he reconciled us.

By his wounds, we are healed.”

But what does it mean to reconcile?  Reconciliation is a choice and it can take strength and courage, sometimes so much strength and courage that it is easier to recoil in anger and spite than to take the leap of faith.  Sometimes bitterness and the silent treatment are easier pills to swallow then saying “I am sorry”,  and/or “I forgive you.”  Sometimes we would rather just turn our back and walk away, maybe run away, thinking we can outrun the pain, the hurt, the loneliness of a broken relationship.  Unfortunately a change in location or lack of communication doesn’t heal brokenness.  Just ask the Israelites who cried out to God to save them from Pharaoh.  

We can still be enslaved today, only a lot of our Masters are chosen by us.  We can choose to be a slave to hate, ignorance, intolerance, self-righteousness, bitterness, hurt, anger…the list goes on, choose your own.  There is another choice.  We can choose Love.  We can choose Wholeness through God.  God can give us the strength and courage to reach out to someone and say “I love you”, “I am sorry that I wounded you”, “I forgive you”, “I love you, too”.

“By his blood, he reconciled us”; Jesus gave himself as an offering to us so that we might be reconciled to the Godhead.  Jesus came to us and said “Do not be afraid”, “Come follow me”.  If we are true Disciples of Christ, true followers of The Way we must learn to give ourselves as offerings to others in true acts of forgiveness and reconciliation.  No justification for action, no admittance of wrong with strings attached or admission of forgiveness with strings attached.

“By his wounds, we are healed”;  Jesus was wounded by us, for us, to save us.  “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”  We, yes you and I, my friend, are the walking wounded.  We walk around saying “I am fine”, “things are fine” and we dress ourselves up and take ourselves out and show our “fine” image to the public.  But in the safety of our homes and the quietness of our prayer we can lay before God all the wounds, some bleeding, some new and jagged, some beginning to heal.  And we can be healed.  We can ask God to overcome us and be within the words we speak and in the ears of those who hear us.  We can present ourselves to the one we have wounded or the one who has wounded us.  We can say, “I am sorry I wounded you.”  We can say, “Please know that you wounded me and I forgive you.”  Sometimes we can say this once and we can move forward in relationship.  Sometimes we can say this once and we can move forward ending the relationship, but leaving it with both persons in a state of wholeness.  Sometimes we have to say this daily until the wound has fully healed.  Sometimes we have to say this daily knowing that only God can heal our wound and we must just keep praying for wholeness.

What does it mean to be reconciled to another?  To God?  It means freedom and peace;  A peace which passes all understanding and is only possible through the healing power of a Savior.

Blessed be your reconciliations as you find wholeness in your life, in your relationships and with your God.