Daily Devotional • November 3
A Reading from Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, 25 and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. 26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. 31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. 35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Meditation
One of the foremost tasks of Christian life is to forgive. Our job as humans is not to mete out punishment or judgment. We can rest secure in the knowledge that justice lies in the hands of God. It is his work alone. But he has given us some of his work to share in and that is the work of forgiveness.
And it is just that — a share in what is the great and shocking work of God. Work which is the forgiveness of all human sin and failure and refusal. Upon the cross, the great reconciliation of sinners with their God was made. It is in that work which we participate when we choose to forgive those who have wronged us. Our forgiveness of others is intimately bound up with God’s forgiveness of us. They make sense of each other.
If I say to God “forgive me my sins,” what I am saying is: “I know my weakness and my sinfulness and my inability to remedy myself. I know how good and precious forgiveness is and I want that gift.”
If at the same time I say “but I don’t want to forgive anyone else,” then I haven’t understood what forgiveness is in the first place. The anger and resentment of unforgiveness “blocks the pipes” of my own heart, keeping me from receiving forgiveness.
When I experience particular moments of God’s forgiveness, it moves me to want to forgive others. And when I do forgive others, it points me back to praising God for his mercy. This is one great loop and movement.
So, forgiveness is good for me, it is good for the one I forgive, and it is an objective good, because it is a sharing in the work of God, of the divine nature itself. God’s very being is mercy, his action is mercy, and he has entrusted us with a portion of that work on earth.
The Reverend Cara Greenham Hancock is a deacon serving in the Anglican Church of Australia, as a curate at the parish of St Stephen and St Mary, Mount Waverley.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Karnataka South – The Church of South India (United)
Church of St. Mark, Brooklyn, New York