In today’s gospel passage, the Pharisees and the others surrounding the man whose blindness Jesus had healed were arguing. “This is what I think,” the Pharisees said. “But this is what I think,” the others said. Scripture points out, “And they were divided.” We can all relate to that divided condition, in our world, in our country, in our state, in our local government, in our church, in our work, in our family. Division, unfortunately, is the human condition most of the time.

Division, however, is not the way of God, the “one in whom we live and move and have our being.”(Acts 17:28) In God’s view, all creation is one, regardless of how often we may attempt to separate ourselves from one another. The apostle Paul uses the human body as a metaphor for our oneness, our interdependence (I Cor.12:14-26) to enable us to see the Beloved’s desire for us and to move past our seemingly endless desire for division, separation.

During our Lenten self-examination, if we discover any aspects of division in our lives, we have, not only the opportunity to seek reconciliation but also, the urging of the Holy One to “first be reconciled to your brother or sister.” (Mt.5:24b) Having an intention of reconciliation in our hearts is a good first step to overcoming our divisions. The Church provides a rite of Reconciliation (BCP, pp.447-452) if that is what we need to get us on the right track to our oneness with God. It is said, “All may, some should, but none must.” Only you know where you stand. When we look at others in our lives, we will likely find those we need to forgive and those from whom we need to ask forgiveness. Perhaps there will be relationships where we see we need to make amends. We can trust God to show us the next step in our reconciliation journey.