24th Sunday Ordinary Time - September 17th, 2023 (Click Here for Readings)

Whatever our offenders owe us for their wrongdoing is a drop in the bucket compared to what we owe God for our wrongdoing to him. If we go about seeking revenge or punishment on those who offend us, how much more should we be punished by God for our multiple offenses against him?

Let us never lose sight of the log in our eye compared to the splinters in our offender’s eyes. When we harbor grudges, wrath and anger against others as this Sunday's reading from Sirach notes, we are living for ourselves, not living for Christ as St. Paul tells the Romans in his letter today.

At our baptism, we are given a new life in Christ, but sadly over time, we begin to transfer some of our life in Christ over to life in ourselves. So we need to recognize it, reverse the process and become a role model to others of living in Christ by forgiving and dispelling our anger with those who offend us.

As Jesus tells Peter in today’s Gospel to forgive “not seven times but seventy-seven times,” he meant to forgive endlessly just as we must forgive our offenders. We also have an endless debt to God for his forgiveness, mercy and graces that we can never pay off in full, but can at least make an ongoing effort to pay it down with our good works of love, forgiveness and service to others.

Satan Wins. You Lose.

We can’t give up on forgiving. Despite someone’s repeated offenses against us, when we don’t repeatedly forgive them as well, Satan wins his battle for our souls. But if God forgives us repeatedly for our sins, what right do we have to forgo our forgiveness to others? 

The Finespun Sins
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Besides the bold and blatant offenses and sins committed against us are also the more subtle ones. Over my life in business and ministry, I’ve been patronized, manipulated, ostracized and quietly outdone by sleek and savvy people who view their behaviors as merely business as usual or no big deal. And when I’ve confronted them, I've often received comebacks like, “What are you talking about” or “C’mon, get over it.” And in such cases with these types of offenders, my best solution has been to resort to prayer, both for them to change their nature and for myself to just forgive them and move on.

So let us turn our cheeks more, throw out our eye for and eye attitude and forgive our offenders in advance before they feel compelled to apologize. If our forgiveness doesn’t awaken them to their sin, we’re at least cleansing ourselves of our sin of revenge.
 
Let us no longer be shackled by our anger and follow Jesus. When we truly pardon others, we can be assured of God’s divine pardon and that he will “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

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