Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Two very different supernatural events are described in today’s readings. Joshua recounts how the whole nation of Israel crosses the Jordan River on dry land, despite it being the middle of the flood season. It’s reminiscent of crossing the Reed Sea, forty years and a generation before, and it stands as a reminder that God is still with the Israelites, present and as powerful as ever. Matthew recounts Jesus’s teaching on forgiveness: our mercy must be limitless, like divine the forgiveness we receive.
Does seeing a physical miracle like a wall of water seem like a greater miracle than forgiveness? Perhaps for some, but for many of us, the idea that we must forgive ALL people, even those who work for evil and terrible causes, or who have directly attacked and victimized us or those we love… that can seem impossible. To forgive someone guilty of such terrible or personal offenses, especially those who continue their bad behavior patterns, is simply miraculous.
That is what Jesus asks. Forgiveness is not something we can do by our own power. Like holding back a wall of water, forgiving our brothers and sisters from the heart is an act of Grace, a sign of the presence of the Spirit. We cannot do it alone, even though we so often try. Are you struggling to forgive someone? Is there anyone you cannot love as a brother and sister? Without God’s help, we are like the poor servant, forgetting all that our Lord has forgiven in us, and mistreating those who have committed even trivial sins against us. Bring your grudge to the Lord, and ask for the Spirit to soften your proud heart. Invite the loving presence of Christ into your heart, and wait for the miracle. The One who parts the sea and the river will usher you across, into a new place of mercy and forgiveness. Amen.
-Chris Nieport