Tuesday, June 13, 2023

 Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” ²² “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! ²³ “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. ²⁴ In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  ²⁵ He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned – to pay the debt. ²⁶ “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ ²⁷ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. ²⁸ “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. ³⁰ But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. ³¹ “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. ³² Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. ³⁵ “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

       That’s what My heavenly Father will do to you!  Why is it I who have been forgiven so much am often the slowest and most hesitant to forgive?  Oh sometimes, I do forgive … partially!  I say the words, “I forgive you” or “I’ve forgiven them.”  But my attitude has changed toward them.  I shy away; I move to create distance between us.  I become more protective, more hesitant to be identified with that person.  That’s not what God does for me!  When I fall before God and sincerely confess my wretchedness, God rushes toward me; God embraces me; God dis-members the wrong I have done from the person I am; God gives me a second chance (& and third and fourth, sometimes).  Why can’t I?  When will I truly “forgive those who sin against me” so that I can truly receive the Father’s forgiveness?

       Lord God, I can’t do that alone.  I’m 58 years old and for 58 years, it’s been the same routine.  So, Lord, today will you help me to see others – especially those who have wronged me – the way You see them?  Will you help me love them the way You love them (and me)?  Will you help me to see You in them, taking upon Yourself their sins and mine, and asking from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”?  Amen!