The road to the altar

A particular town in Northern Ireland has made international headlines, once again, for all the wrong reasons. Two communities remain locked in a standoff along a road leading from a church on the hill.  Gathered early in the morning for a service of prayer a group of men wished to assert their cultural rights to walk along the King’s highway. Another community living down the road objected because of the historical associations between triumphalism and subjugation of a minority.  They will not budge.

My sense is that only a return to humility, repentance, obedience and reconciliation can bring a lasting peace. Let Christ’s words be said out loud:

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. (Matthew 5:23-24)

We may feel that we have the right to do certain things – whether as a result of a court order or some other legal mechanism. The real question is ‘what is the right thing to do at this time and in this place and in a way that avoids escalation and threats of violence?’

In every Eucharist we are obliged to make every effort – before we bring our gifts or our own presence – to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters.

Today, we remember to pray for refugees and migrants.  It is also the  memorial of St Vincent de Paul, a 17^th Century French priest who pioneered organized charity and dedicated his  life to the poor, abandoned children, prisoners and galley slaves.  He saw service of the poor as flowing directly from Christ encountered in prayer and the sacraments. The road to the poor is the road to the altar