"First be reconciled to your brother or sister," Jesus admonishes us in today's gospel. Bearing in mind that we are all children of God and therefore brothers and sisters to each and all around the world, that is a tall order. Perhaps before we can be reconciled to one another, we have to come to accept that all of us human beings make up the one family of God, no matter how different from one another we may seem, no matter how we separate ourselves from one another. God loves us each and all without exception and wants us to love each other with that same Divine Love, especially those who seem unlovable, those we think are our enemies.

Accepting that we are all made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-27) paves the way for reconciliation, and I suspect forgiveness follows, enabling us to let go of our biases, prejudices, all our negative assumptions, feelings, certainties about others. Forgiveness sets us free to reconcile with others regardless of what they may have said or done before. When, with God's grace, we can pray with Jesus, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Lk.23:24), we will be ready for reconciliation, ready to love them as God loves us.

God has reconciled the world to Godself in Christ Jesus and has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us (II Cor.5:18-19). We are called to grow beyond our self-centered thoughts and feelings and become God's reconcilers, what Isaiah called "a repairer of the breach," (Is.58:12) in our divided world here and now, sharing God's self-giving love with each and all.