Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 1st Week of Lent - Tues
[Isa 55:10-11 and Matt 6:7-15]TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 TUESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT [Isaiah 55:10-11 and Matthew 6:7-15] "If you forgive people their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." [Matthew] These words immediately follow the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. They echo and reinforce a phrase in that prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." How many times have we said that prayer in our lives? Thousands? It is such a comfortable prayer, one of the first we learn as children. But that line about forgiveness has a way of just blending in. The "reinforcing" words indicate the seriousness with which Jesus regards the challenge of forgiveness. If we want God to forgive us, then we must forgive (and ask for forgiveness from) others. Later on in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter a parable about an unforgiving servant [Matt. 18:21-35] which would be worth reading as one reflects on the challenge of forgiveness. Today is the second day of a parish mission I am preaching in northeastern Louisiana. The theme of the mission is "The Word of Faith which we preach." Forgiveness is a powerful form of preaching. It is mercy in action. Yes, it is a very good thing to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Lent, but we impede the effects of that sacrament if we fail to share God's forgiveness with others by our own forgiveness. We have the Lord's own prayer and the additional words at the end to remind us. AMEN
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