Once I attended the Hindu wedding of a niece of mine. At one point in that ceremony, a long chain of small beads or strung pebbles is placed over the bride’s head. These beads, pictured above, represent all the stresses, arguments and conflicts she will encounter with her beloved spouse over the course of their marriage. The beads, being small, pale in comparison with the love between the spouses. It’s that love that will help her forgive the many small things that challenge every marriage.
I’m reminded of those beads when Peter, after hearing today’s Gospel parable about the forgiving and unforgiving servants, asks: Lord … how often must I forgive? “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight,” proclaims Sirach, our first reading. Many of us have seen this up close and personal in our own families, among friends and neighbors, in work groups. In pastoral work, I have seen people hold on to wrath and anger even when it does them in, leaving them without the comfort of family at the point of death! Forgiveness is difficult. We are great scorekeepers, remembering for years who did what to me, who owes me more than I owe them, who has gotten more than they “deserved.” And when we do something a bit wrong to another person, there are good and valid reasons for it, but when someone else does something wrong to me, we demand justice and fairness. Forgiveness and generosity, seen in this Gospel, go beyond fairness. The loving thing to do goes way beyond the fair thing to do. Forgiving is not optional for a follower of Christ — as the harsh ending of this Gospel makes clear. But the good news is that we have a great teacher in Jesus, and we have his grace! So forgiveness is possible, and — at least for me and perhaps you — it does seem to get easier over time!
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia
The post September 13, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Forgiving: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.