"O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom you have given a fervent desire to pray, may, by your mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Psalm 25:3-10, Song of the Three Young Men 2-4, 11-20a, and Matthew 18:21-35
The gospel appointed for today is one that I typically use when doing the lower school chapel when forgiveness is a topic. I enjoy using it for them because they live in a world where they can recognize when things are fair and when things are unfair. They are able to recognize an injustice that might have simply become a part of our lives as adults, and they seem to really enjoy putting out what's fair and unfair here.
This story tells of a king who forgives the debts of one of his servants, setting him free from an obligation to return payment. As the narrative goes on, the man who is set free does not extend the same gratitude to someone who owes him. An arrest ensues, and when the king discovers that the kindness he extended to his slave was not exhibited to others, he had no choice but to punish the slave he had originally forgiven.
This is a story about the mercy of God and the duty that we have to extend to others the same mercy that is extended to us, to forgive others as we have been forgiven, to love others as God loves us. As I'm sure I've mentioned already, forgiveness is a difficult thing. It means making ourselves vulnerable and risking further hurt or embarrassment. Sometimes, our actions will not even be acknowledged, and we'll feel like it wasn't even worth our efforts to try. Hopefully, though, we're able to find some peace in the act of forgiveness, even if it's not reciprocated.
No comments:
Post a Comment