Gospel: Matthew 18: 21 - 19: 1
Today's parable encapsulates the entire message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. The Kingdom of God has arrived and is in our midst. Everyone has been granted complete mercy and amnesty. The only condition placed upon us is that we extend this mercy to other people in our lives. As we have been forgiven so we must do for others. It is a very simple and uncomplicated message. God has done God's part of the bargain.
And what of us? We who are the makers of broken homes, shattered relationships, neglected children and spouses. We who are the purveyors of wars and gun violence, the persecutors of entire racial, social, and classes of people. We who create refugees and immigrants and maltreat them. We who continue and defend a system of capital punishment and retributive penal systems. We who expel and exclude others from our table and altar, from our schools and communities...
When we fail to abide by the core message of Jesus, we invent a new religion to take its place. We create new obligations, rituals, laws and codices of complex natures - and we make these binding on others. We pretend this to be Christianity instead of the core message of forgiveness and mercy. Today we can recommit to the core message and create communities committed to its application in our world. Yes, we can...
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