If our minds are stayed upon God, His peace will rule the affairs entertained by our minds. If, on the other hand, we allow our minds to dwell on the cares of this world, God's peace will be far
from our thoughts.
- Woodroll Kroll, The Bible Minute
(What is your experience of peace lately? How does this quote speak to your experience?)
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Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 Matthew 18:21–19:1 Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive
my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to
meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will
pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master
handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the part of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.
Reflection on the Scriptures
When I read today’s gospel story from Matthew my first thoughts were about my experiences of being a dad. It reminded me of when our kids would argue as children. Nancy and I have four children, two girls and two
boys, mostly all grown adults now. The girls are only separated in age by about 18 months, so they grew up playing together. Often (usually daily) when they were young one of them would come to Nancy and me to tattle on the other about something the other had done. I cannot recall a time when they used the same words as Peter did when talking with Jesus. But if they had said, “How many times do I need to forgive her for pulling my hair?” I’m quite certain I would not have said seven times, and
certainly not seventy-seven times. (Maybe Nancy would have, but not me) Likely I would have said something like two times and then it’s open season for retaliation. So, if I put myself in Peter’s shoes and imagine myself being him talking with Jesus, I’m feeling pretty safe with my suggestion that forgiving those who sin against me seven times is quite enough. How must Peter have felt when Jesus essentially answered, “You’re not even close, it’s seventy-seven times” – with the implied message
that “you need to forgive an infinite number of times." . . . No doubt forgiveness is hard. It requires intentionality, a genuine desire, and action on our part. It requires us to see beyond our offended ego to establish or re-establish the connection so “The Flow” can again flow. But all these requirements are worth the effort because we know how
good it makes us and those that we forgive feel. Forgiveness brings us back to the beauty and mystery of the Trinity and to our fundamental relationship with God. -by Tom Lenz
The Imitation of Christ, Thomas A. Kempis https://amzn.to/40FrikB Paperback and Kindle versions available BOOK
ONE: Thoughts Helpful in the Life of a Soul
The Second Chapter: Having a Humble Opinion of Self EVERY person naturally desires knowledge[2]2; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars.[3]3 He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by others.
If I knew all things in the world and
had not charity, what would it profit me before God Who will judge me by my deeds?
Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he (she) who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very
unwise.
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