Our Scripture meditation is based on Matthew 18:21-22, the start of the Gospel Reading for next week, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. For a meditation on the Epistle Lesson, click HERE.
[21] Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” [22] Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Jesus’ instruction is clear. We forgive the people who sin against us.
It doesn’t matter how often they sin against us. It doesn’t matter how deeply we are hurt by the sin. It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve forgiven them in the past. It doesn’t matter whether we want to forgive them.
We forgive.
But what about those times when we can’t bring ourselves to forgive those who sin against us? When we’ve become exhausted from forgiving. When we’re too hurt to forgive. When we’re too angry to forgive.
We ask God to get us to the point where we can again forgive.
One path to follow is becoming more specific when confessing our own sins to God. Silently listing our sins during Confession and Absolution in worship. Receiving private confession and absolution from our pastor. Writing down our sins, then writing Scripture passages about God’s forgiveness and God’s grace.
The idea is this: The more we experience God’s forgiveness of our specific sins, the more God may strengthen us to forgive those who sin against us.
Until next week, the Lord bless and guide.
Kevin Wilson 360 