Reconciliation

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. – Romans 5.9-10

Just inside the entrance to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin is an heavy old oak door with a large vertical slit cut in it. The sign nearby tells us that this is the ‘Door of Reconciliation.’

Here is Wikipedia’s account of the story behind the door.

A dispute between two leading dynastic families of medieval Ireland, the Butlers, (Earls of Ormond) and the FitzGeralds, (Earls of Kildare) was resolved in 1492 by a brave act and a magnanimous response. Black James, nephew of the Earl of Ormond, fleeing from FitzGerald's Geraldine soldiers, took sanctuary in the chapter house of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Though he had the upper hand, with his soldiers surrounding Black James and his men, Gearóid Mór FitzGerald, Ireland's premier earl, wished to end the bloody feud between both families. He pleaded with Black James through the Chapter House's oak door to meet him to negotiate a peace. Black James rebuffed all requests. FitzGerald ordered his soldiers to cut a hole in the centre of the door. Then, having explained how he wished to see peace between the families, the Earl thrust his hand and arm through the hole to shake hands with Black James. It was a risky venture; any of Black James's heavily armed men could have hacked the Earl's arm off; however, James shook his hand and ended the dispute.

From the first time I saw this in 1992 I have loved this illustration of reconciliation. The two factions were at odds. The stronger side reached out first to make reconciliation possible, and the weaker side accepted and the relationship restored. Though all human illustrations fall short, I think this is a beautiful picture of what Christ did for us.

Man was at war with God because of his sin. God could easily have crushed us. He did not need to offer reconciliation, but He did. Like Black James in the story above man rejects God’s offer of peace. As John wrote ‘Jesus came to His own, but He own would not receive Him.’

So God reached out to man. Jesus stretched out His arms on the cross to offer peace and reconciliation. We are justified by His blood, delivered from His wrath, reconciled to God, and delivered by His life because He reached out His hand to us.

How many will accept the offer of reconciliation and take Jesus by the hand?