{"id":105560,"date":"2025-04-13T08:41:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T12:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=105560"},"modified":"2025-04-13T08:41:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T12:41:33","slug":"a-pastors-thoughts-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/13\/a-pastors-thoughts-25\/","title":{"rendered":"A Pastor\u2019s Thoughts\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, First Presbyterian Union Church —<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been hearing the word \u201creconciliation\u201d a lot lately. The dictionary describes reconciliation as \u201cthe restoration of friendly relations\u201d or \u201cthe action of making one view or belief compatible with another.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s used in a political way, as in \u201cthe budget reconciliation bill.\u201d We know that in our family relationships and friendships, there is often a need for reconciliation. We hurt each other, either intentionally or by mistake. We need a way to come back together after hurtful things are said or harmful things are done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes reconciliation happens when groups of people work together after times of oppression. South Africa had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid ended, and so did Canada, to deal with the damage caused by boarding schools on Indigenous children. <\/span><\/p>\n

The peace process in Northern Ireland included great efforts for reconciliation. In each of these countries, reconciliation meant that people who had done harm would stop, listen, accept responsibility, say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d and commit to positive change. Reconciliation leads to individuals and groups being kinder toward one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Christian season of Lent\u2014 the time from Ash Wednesday until right before Easter\u2014 is a time of reconciliation\u2014 with God and with each other. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the Bible stories I love is Jesus\u2019 parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32).  A young man was selfish and rude to his father, left home, wasted his money, made a mess of his life, and longed to return home. When he finally did go home, his father ran out to greet him and welcomed him with open arms. We believe God is like that parent. God runs to us, to welcome us home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 story continues with the older brother who had stayed home the whole time to work for his father. He was jealous that his returning brother was getting all the attention. Jesus challenges us to be reconciled to one another. We remember that Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God, and a second is like it: to \u201clove your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a wonderful song called \u201cYou don\u2019t love God if you don\u2019t love your neighbor.\u201d  Do a search for it on the internet, and you\u2019ll find several versions of it out there. It\u2019s worth a listen.<\/span><\/p>\n

We live in a time and a place where we need reconciliation\u2014 with God and with each other. We are being told to hate, to be suspicious, to judge others who are different. Yet, we know that we can\u2019t give up on other people who are also children of God. We can\u2019t give up on our neighbors. God calls us to love our neighbors. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Jesus\u2019 parable, when the older brother tried to disown his younger brother by saying, \u201cThis son of yours\u2026\u201d the father responded with, \u201cThis brother of yours\u2026\u201d inviting him back into the relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s Second Letter to the Corinthians (5:18-19) reminds us that God has given us a ministry of reconciliation, and those who follow Jesus\u2019 way are ambassadors of Christ. The Bible teacher William Barclay once wrote this about being an ambassador in his Daily Study Bible: \u201cAn ambassador of Britain is a Briton in a foreign land. His life is spent among people who usually speak a different language, who have a different tradition, and who follow a different way of life. The Christian is always like that. He lives in the world; he takes part in all the life and work of the world; but he is a citizen of heaven. To that extent, he is a stranger. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe man who is not willing to be different cannot be a Christian at all.\u201d (Visit https:\/\/www.studylight.org\/commentaries\/eng\/dsb\/2-corinthians-5.html?<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

We live in a world that is far different from what God wants it to be. God calls us to be ambassadors\u2014 to live in the midst of the hatred around us and to be willing to follow a different way\u2014 a way of reconciliation and love.<\/span><\/p>\n

(Carolyn Winfrey and her husband, Bruce Gillette, serve as pastors at the First Presbyterian Union Church in Owego.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, First Presbyterian Union Church — I\u2019ve been hearing the word \u201creconciliation\u201d a lot lately. 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