Jesus' words, especially the closing words of today's gospel, are important and challenging. We are, all of us, sinners. So easily are we distracted from our resolutions our promises to remain faithful to our God, our resolutions not to sin again. When we take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we realize how blessed we are by God's forgiveness, his love for us. It is truly a moment of peace and returning calm. Or do we?The challenge for many today is how not to act as if sin was not a part of our lives but so obvious in the lives of others. Perhaps we focus more on the sins in the lives of others. We see in them a self-righteousness. We can easily see how distant they seem to be from an openness to the mystery of God's love. They seem seem to judge others in black and white verdicts ... so differently than God seems to judge us with the color grey.
Jesus invites us to live with true pardon: not just his pardon but our pardon of those whose words or deeds may have offended us. Jesus' challenge: let goof the unforgiving feeling; put to rest the sharpness of resentment; deflate the heart filled with anger. This is no easy dare when anyone becomes the object of another person's sin in their lives.
When I can see myself and my sinfulness in those who have hurt me, maybe then for me there will be the opportunity to realize all the more how much God loves me and wants me to forgive others.
