Thursday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 18:21-19:1
God is like the king who decided to settle accounts with his slaves..."
The Matthean Jesus responds to Peter's question about how often one must forgive with the story about a king who graciously forgives the large debt of the slave who pleads on his knees for patience. The forgiven one, however, does not pay it forward.
I heard something new today as I struggled with putting myself into this text. Perhaps I have a greater power to contribute to a culture of forgiveness than I might imagine. I don't have to wait for a deep hurt or painful sin to engage my call to forgiveness. I have daily opportunities (maybe even seventy times seven) to support, persuade, influence or otherwise participate in a growing culture of forgiveness in my family, my workplace, and my various communities.
It is subtle. It happens when I act to ease an escalation of resentment toward a real or perceived wronging. It happens when I maintain a calm and inviting manner when I come upon a cauldron of heated personalities in conflict. It happens when I refuse to take sides. It happens when I'm at my listening best. And so I pray...Let it happen more...70 X 7 more!
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