Forgive your neighbour

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Mache dich, mein Herze, rein

J. S. Bach, Dunedin Consort

Today is Sunday the 13th of September, beginning the 24th week of Ordinary Time.

The Dunedin Consort sings Mache dich, mein Herze, rein from Bach’s St Matthew Passion: Mache dich, mein Herze, rein. ‘Make my heart pure.’ We tend not to think of ourselves, as pure, just because the bad feelings in our own hearts – anger, spite, impatience – are so plain to us. But what is a pure heart? It is a heart that is open to God, that wants whatever God wants. We purify our hearts whenever we ask God to show the way, whenever we surrender our will to God’s will. And we can do that, now.

4:26

Today’s reading is from the Book of Ecclesiasticus.

Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7

Anger and wrath, these also are abominations,

yet a sinner holds on to them.

The vengeful will face the Lord’s vengeance,

for he keeps a strict account of their sins.

Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done,

and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.

Does anyone harbour anger against another,

and expect healing from the Lord?

If someone has no mercy towards another like himself,

can he then seek pardon for his own sins?

If a mere mortal harbours wrath,

who will make an atoning sacrifice for his sins?

Remember the end of your life, and set enmity aside;

remember corruption and death, and be true to the commandments.

Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbour;

remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.

6:08

This reading makes an unflinching connection: those who hold on to anger cannot expect the healing or forgiveness they ask of God. It is a hard equation to hear, and yet it rings true to experience - the resentment we nurse against others so often keeps us, too, locked outside the freedom we long for. How does it feel to hear that your own capacity to receive forgiveness is bound up with your willingness to forgive?

‘Remember the end of your life and set enmity aside’ These words reach for our mortality as a way of putting our grudges in perspective. Does the reminder that life is short change how urgently you feel about a resentment or an unresolved anger you may be carrying at the moment?

As you listen to the reading again, let the words rest particularly on any anger you are aware of holding, and notice what arises.

9:21

Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7

Anger and wrath, these also are abominations,

yet a sinner holds on to them.

The vengeful will face the Lord’s vengeance,

for he keeps a strict account of their sins.

Forgive your neighbour the wrong he has done,

and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.

Does anyone harbour anger against another,

and expect healing from the Lord?

If someone has no mercy towards another like himself,

can he then seek pardon for his own sins?

If a mere mortal harbours wrath,

who will make an atoning sacrifice for his sins?

Remember the end of your life, and set enmity aside;

remember corruption and death, and be true to the commandments.

Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbour;

remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook faults.

11:01

This week has already asked us to love our enemies and to see ourselves honestly before judging others. Our final reading brings both of these together today. Is there someone you need to forgive, or a wrong you are finding hard to release? Speak to God now about it, asking for the grace of a freer heart.

13:32

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen