“Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

Offering a sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem was an especially important act for practicing Jews at the time of Jesus.  Psalm 4:4 instructs, “Offer fitting sacrifice and trust in the Lord.”  Sacrifices could be oxen, sheep, goats, turtledoves, or pigeons.  People could bring their own or arrange for a purchase in the temple courts.  Either way, it was a significant act that took planning and time.  For those who lived some distance from Jerusalem, it may have happened only once a year. 

Jesus was saying that reconciliation with a brother who had something against you was so important, that you should interrupt the process of sacrifice or offering and go first to seek reconciliation with the brother.   

In our time, we should not let hurts we impart on others fester.  We should deal with them immediately.  Applied to our present day it would be like saying that before we go to mass or church services, we should make it a point first to seek reconciliation with a brother or sister we may have offended.  While the Catholic Church begins its mass with a prayer of contrition for sins “in my thoughts, and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,” Jesus is telling us to seek reconciliation even before we come to church.

I believe Jesus intended this word particularly for members of our own family and other Christian brothers and sisters.  How often have we let a harsh or errant word fly off to a spouse, close family member, or Christian brother or sister?  I can certainly think of times when I did this and did not act on it immediately as Jesus urges.  Just as Jesus places a high priority on forgiving others for offenses against us, he similarly places a high priority on our seeking forgiveness for our own wrongdoing.

Is there someone who has something against you with whom you need to reconcile?