GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
It is a distinctive feature of the Christian faith to love, forgive and to be reconciled to others. In the Pauline epistle today, we hear the words of the Apostle Paul, “be reconciled to God.” What does this mean? If we look up the dictionary definition of being “reconciled” it means to - restore friendly relations. Often, we use this word in the context of our relationship with others, but St. Paul uses it in our relationship with God. So, then, why do we have to be reconciled to God? Why is that necessary?
First and foremost, due to sin, or rather the consequences of sin, we have a separation from God. This separation is not a complete separation; because even though sin exists and we are immersed in it, we are still people who are created in the image and likeness of God. So, the separation can never be a complete separation because God cannot separate Himself. But, that said, sin continuously invades our lives, causing us to forget God and moving us away from God. A good analogy is the story of the prodigal son. The son went his own way and committed all sorts of sin; but in the end, he was attached to his father and could not, even if he wanted to, get away from him. Similarly, we can try to abandon God or move away from him through our own actions, but really, we can never get rid of him because He is in us.
Since sin is in our lives and we can’t get rid of God, we need to be reconciled with Him. This happens in three ways, 1) personal 2) communal 3) confessional
Personal: we need to wake up and go to sleep with repentance. Repentance means feeling sorry for our sins and asking God for forgiveness. We need to restore our relationship with God every day by way of prayer and acknowledging his presence. It’s that constant recognition that God is there. So, saying the Jesus Prayer, in the morning when we wake up and before we go to sleep and throughout the day is a way for us to reconcile ourselves to God.
Communal: by communal, I mean the gathering of the faithful. The best example is how we all attend Qurbana and through the receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ, we are reconciled to God.
Confessional: this is when the faithful of the church participate in the sacrament of Confession. Confession along with Communion is ultimate combo to reconcile ourselves to God. This will help us spiritually, physically and emotionally get right with God.
The above-mentioned ways are commonly known among the faithful. But now I would like to focus on the personal way a bit more. As Christians, we often find it difficult to reconcile with God on a personal basis because of everything else that is going on in our lives. The following method is a practical and effective way that we could use every day to reconcile ourselves with God during our prayer time or whenever we have the time. Here’s how:
Mind: our mind is an invisible battle field. One that we can only see. It is the place where we entertain thoughts and ideas that can separate ourselves from God. Therefore, our mind needs to be reconciled to God.
Ear: our ears are often tempted to hear what we are not supposed to hear. It itches to hear gossip, etc. And then it makes our mouth to sin. Therefore, our ears have to be reconciled to God.
Eyes: The Bible says that our eyes are the gateway to our body. If we ponder this, we realize that it is through the eyes that we see the world. Therefore, our eyes have to be reconciled to God.
Mouth: the tongue acts as an agent to voice hatred, vengeance and other sorts of vices. Of course, it could be used for the good. It is when we use it for the bad that we need to be reconciled to God.
Hands: the hands do our biding. It acts in perfect harmony with our mind. It executes our sinful thoughts. Therefore, we need to reconcile our hands to God.
Feet: our feet, like our hands, work in harmony with our minds. It takes us to the places that we should not go to, that is, if our mind is working for sin. In a sense, our feet make our mind mobile. It allows the sin to go where it wants to. Therefore, our feet have to be reconciled to God.