URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 28th October 2025

St Matthew 5: 21 – 26

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.”  But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire.  So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.  Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.  Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Reflection

Goodness, this is hard hitting. It’s easy to skim over it without thinking, but listen to those words of Jesus again. He is talking about judgement:  not just the judgement of murderers and thieves, but the judgement of each one of us in our relationships with one another. He seems to be saying that unresolved anger, irritation, disdain of others actually separates us from God. It is vitally important to sort these things out before you come to God. Sounds like the fires of hell are going to be well stoked!

I mean, who doesn’t have some sort of ill-feeling towards another? I know I do. I try to be forgiving, but it’s a hard task sometimes. And I try to apologise when I have done or said something hurtful to another. But my, it’s not easy and I don’t know that I always succeed. Only the other day I called my son a fool for not wearing suncream while gardening on a very sunny day – only to be caught out myself a few days later playing crazy golf in the sun (and yes, I did call myself a fool too – it burnt like hell’s fire!).

The two greatest commandments – to love God and love your neighbour – are, in fact, one. You can’t love God without loving your neighbour – they are two sides of the same coin. Jesus’ story about the good Samaritan is one illustration about loving your neighbour, but your neighbour can be much closer to home too – someone who’s involved in your everyday life just as much as the stranger in need you meet on your journey. No point bringing your gifts or your worship to God, says Jesus, if there’s an outstanding issue between you and your neighbour. Like the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, perhaps we need to admit our weakness, make amends and repair relationships. Oh dear, where do I start?

Prayer

Loving, forgiving God,
how do you do it? 
How do you forgive us our wrongs so readily?
I prefer to hold a grudge.
And as for admitting I’ve failed and making amends,
well, that’s a challenge!
But to love you, I must love your children – all of them.
Help me recognise where hurt separates us
and take steps to put things right.
Then I can also put things right with you.
Amen.