Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - Thursday in the 10th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Cor 3:15—4:1, 3-6 and Matt 5:20-26]"Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift." [Matthew]
Jesus' teaching about forgiveness receives considerable emphasis in the Gospel According to Matthew. The quotation above from today's gospel passage from the Sermon on the Mount is an example which is reinforced in the Lord's Prayer, also in the Sermon on the Mount. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us! [Matt.6-12]. At the end of the prayer, Jesus goes on to say: If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. [Matt. 6:14-15] Later on in this gospel, Jesus offers an entire process for reconciliation [Matt. 18:15-17]. He then replies to Peter's question about the frequency of forgiveness with the parable of the Unforgiving Servant. [Matt. 18:21-35.
Perhaps the emphasis was triggered by divisions in the community for which Matthew wrote his gospel. But in the long run, it may be due to the difficulty that human beings have in forgiving anyone who has hurt them. The Sermon on the Mount warns the reader that "righteousness" has to be more than an external formality. It must spring from a righteous heart and integrity. The hypocrisy of the religious leadership (scribes and Pharisees) was a frequent target for Jesus' criticism because "they preach but they do not practice." [Matt. 23:3]. The quotation about reconciliation before worship at the beginning of this reflection should alert us to the importance of this in Christian life. The process does not end at the confessional. There has to be a follow-up that "puts skin on" the forgiveness of God in forgiveness of neighbor! AMEN