This morning in worship, we looked at Matthew 5:21-26 and our need to address issues of anger and be people of relentless reconciliation. To begin the message, I referenced the horrible tragedy at the Amish school in Lancaster County, PA, that happened in October 2006. Several students were killed and the gunman killed himself leaving an innocent community reeling in the pain of broken relationships. It dawned on me this afternoon that in the excitement of ending the message and moving into Communion that I never came back and finished the story (which without the ending really doesn’t do much to advance the main point of the sermon!).
So, here’s the end of the story:
The Amish people of Lancaster County, PA, understood the idea of pursuing relentless reconciliation when it came to Charles Roberts and his murdering of those innocent schoolgirls. They had every reason in the world to be upset, hurt, and angry. They had every reason to want to forget about that day and that man as much as they could, but while the nation grieved for the Amish, the Amish grieved for the Roberts family. They lived this idea that Jesus is teaching in the Sermon on the Mount when even as soon as the afternoon of the tragedy they began the process of reconciling with Roberts’ family. They weren’t even the ones who had done something wrong, and yet, they pursued relentless reconciliation. By modeling this before the world, their actions declared that they would never have the holiness that God desired for his people or the type of relationship with God that he desired while they harbored a broken relationship, and so, even though the world said they didn’t have to, they pursued relentless reconciliation.
No one said it would be easy, but in the midst of seeking right relationships with others, God meets us and makes us more of what he desires.
If you’d like to hear the sermon, click here.
