19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Jesus’ parable can be challenging, especially when we’ve been deeply hurt by someone and are still struggling to forgive them. It’s true, of course, that God has forgiven us such a large debt that we should forgive the much smaller “debt” that someone else owes us. But sometimes it’s difficult even to get to the point of wanting to forgive another person. So let’s look at how our unforgiveness might be affecting us.

We may have experienced the pain of abuse, betrayal, or neglect, but that pain is only magnified when we hold onto it. Then we become weighed down by bitterness and resentment. These burdens prevent us from living in the fullness of peace that Christ won for us on Calvary. Jesus came to liberate the captives (Luke 4:18), and extending forgiveness frees us from the prison of our negative thoughts and feelings. It helps us to love others as Christ loves us.

Praise be to God that our ability to forgive does not depend only on us! Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us, “Ask and it will be given to you” (7:7). So even though this task of forgiveness can seem impossible, the Lord promises that if we ask, he will soften our hearts and help us to begin moving along the path of forgiveness.

Even so, it’s important to keep in mind that forgiveness does not often come instantaneously. Pursuing it requires just as much patience and mercy with ourselves as it does for the ones who have wronged us. There will surely be moments when we fall back into anger and frustration. But each time we do, we can call on the Lord and ask for more of his mercy and grace. It’s a prayer that he loves to answer.

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Don’t let the bitterness and resentment of unforgiveness shackle you. Believe that with God’s grace, you can live in the freedom that is yours in Christ.

“Jesus, I want to be free! Help me forgive all those who have hurt me.”

Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
Psalm 114:1-6
Matthew 18:21-19:1