7th Week in Ordinary Time

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Some years ago, a parish priest and one of his deacons had a heated and open disagreement in front of many members of their parish.   They eventually worked out their differences, and after fully reconciling, they decided to stand up in front of the congregation and explain that they had forgiven each other.   They also asked everyone to forgive them for their poor example and for disrupting the unity of their church.   When a visitor witnessed this unusual reconciliation, she was so moved by it that she decided to come to that same church again.   She kept coming, and eventually, she joined the parish and decided to become involved.   Forgiveness is a powerful force for good!

It took a lot of humility for the pastor and deacon not only to reconcile but to do so publicly.   But as James says in today’s first reading (James 4:1-10), “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6).   These two men became a living witness to God’s grace in action.   They showed their fellow parishioners that we all need God’s grace to fight our natural inclination toward pride and stubbornness.   They showed what happens when we ask for God’s grace to approach someone in humility and ask that person to forgive us.

But what if we have already asked forgiveness of someone and it didn’t go well?   Do we just walk away?   Our pride may tell us we’ve done all we could.   But if we ask God for the grace to seek reconciliation again, he might surprise us.   He might help us find a more creative way to approach the person.   Or perhaps we discover a blind spot in our own thinking that is an obstacle to reconciliation.   Even if all we do is pray more earnestly for the other person involved, we may find our hearts softened toward them.

Is there someone you need to reconcile with, especially someone you’ve approached before?   Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.   As part of your Lenten journey, ask God to prepare your heart to reconcile with that person.   No doubt you’ll be amazed at what God will do with this prayer!

“Jesus, as Lent draws near, grant me the grace I need to seek reconciliation and healing in this relationship.”

Psalm 55:7-11, 23
Mark 9:30-37