There is a lot that can be gleaned from our readings this morning. But it’s necessary to focus on only one. At least according to Jesus, forgiving others “against whom you have a grievance” is necessary for your prayers to be answered.1 Each day we pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” thus accepting the other thing Jesus teaches in today’s Gospel: that forgiving others is a condition for receiving the Father’s forgiveness.
Forgive as you are forgiven. Refuse to forgive and forfeit the forgiveness necessary for eternal life. It’s really that simple. As C.S. Lewis observed: “To be Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” He then observes: “This is hard.”2
As a Christian, it is also important to try living in such a way that you don’t make other people have to forgive you. It’s easy to become so focused on what you want that you fail to consider others in your quest to obtain it. Being thoughtful and considerate of others is particularly important. As we collectively abandon civility, these virtues are increasingly rare.
In our reading from 1 Peter, we heard the exhortation: “Be hospitable to one another without complaining.”3 Value every person’s gifts, especially those put at the service of all. As Saint Paul insisted in his Letter to the Philippians, “humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.”4 This is perhaps the best measure of spiritual and emotional maturity.
To be like Jesus, you must want, you must desire to be like Him. Desiring this means not receiving these teachings sentimentally. Rather, you must let yourself be provoked. In its most literal sense, a provocation is something for (pro) your calling (vocation). Don’t be content to remain a non-fruit-bearing fig tree and certainly don’t become a cursed one.
1 Mark 11:25.↩
2 C.S. Lewis. The Weight of Glory (Simon & Schuster, 1996), pgs. 135-136.↩
3 1 Peter 4:9.↩
4 Philippians 2:3.
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