Today is all about forgiveness and mercy. Sometimes in our lives we are hurt by others. Some hurts we carry for years. Perhaps someone betrayed your trust or treated you unfairly, and every time you remember it, the pain returns. Sometimes we hold on to such hurts because we feel that forgiving the person means that what they did was acceptable. The word of God today helps us to address those concerns.
In the first reading, the book of Ecclesiasticus spoke strongly about anger, resentment, and revenge. We cannot get healing from God if we nourish anger within us. It reminds us that we are all sinners who need God’s mercy. Therefore, we cannot continually ask God to forgive us while refusing to forgive others. Forgiveness is not easy, but it is part of the life of someone who has experienced God’s mercy.
In the second reading, St. Paul reminded us that no one lives or dies for themselves, but we all belong to God in life or death. Bringing this to our relationships, if we belong to Christ, then our lives should be guided by Him rather than by anger, revenge, or personal pride. Christ is the one who died and rose again so that He might be Lord of both the living and the dead. Our relationship with Him must therefore influence the way we treat one another.
In the Gospel, Peter came to Jesus with a question regarding how many times to forgive someone who hurts us. He probably added the number seven, imagining it was already generous. However, Jesus responded with a ten-fold and seven-fold multiplication. “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. In other words, forgiveness should not be limited by counting. Then Jesus told them the parable of the unforgiving servant, whose debt was forgiven, but he wouldn’t forgive another person.
Think of the mercy you have received from God and allow that mercy to flow through you to others. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We show mercy because we have received mercy. If you are still finding it difficult to forgive, perhaps the wound is still in your heart and still painful. You shouldn’t pretend that nothing happened, but should begin the journey of forgiveness by placing the hurt into God’s hands.