[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]St. Leo the Great, in an ancient sermon, sums it up: \u201cIf he wishes to receive forgiveness for himself, let him rejoice that he has someone whom he himself may forgive\u201d (Sermon<\/em> 48.4). That really is the ethical point of this Sunday\u2019s gospel from Matthew: the simple point that since God forgives you, you must forgive others. Full stop, end of discussion, no ifs, ands, or buts.<\/p>\n

Often, we go about forgiveness the wrong way. We think we need to do a lot of prep work before we can forgive someone. We think if only this person will say this or do that, then we\u2019ll be able to forgive. We set a reserve bid on our forgiveness. But Jesus doesn\u2019t tell us to do that; he commands the opposite in fact. Jesus tells us to forgive first and ask questions later.<\/p>\n

Now, this seems irrational, almost irresponsible. But, if you think about it, that\u2019s how God forgives us. While we were still sinners, Paul said, Christ died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:8). That\u2019s why it\u2019s called grace, because it\u2019s mercy we didn\u2019t deserve and didn\u2019t earn. And it\u2019s precisely the sort of mercy God wants us to practice\u2014even for the person you don\u2019t want to show mercy. Yes, that one.<\/p>\n

Because that\u2019s how the chain of hatred and sin is broken. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, \u201cSomebody must have religion enough and morality enough to cut hate off.\u201d That\u2019s why Christ calls us to forgive radically. That\u2019s why he calls us to transcend our hurts and hatreds. Because that\u2019s how God breaks into the world\u2014through our mercy.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]St. Leo the Great, in an ancient sermon, sums it up: \u201cIf he wishes to receive forgiveness for himself, let him rejoice that he has someone whom he himself may forgive\u201d (Sermon 48.4). That really is the ethical point of this Sunday\u2019s gospel from Matthew: the simple point that since God forgives you, you must forgive [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[43,49],"yoast_head":"\n