Let us return to the beginning of Jesus’ parable this week. Jesus doesn’t begin his story by saying, “Forgiveness is like this…” or, “There once was a king…” Rather, he starts by saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to…” (Matthew 18:23). Jesus is trying to give us a window not just into a technical question about forgiveness, but
also into a whole way of life, a way of being and thriving, an entire climate and atmosphere — “the Kingdom of heaven,” God’s realm of love and mercy — within which humanity may unfurl into its fullest, most beautiful form.
When we’re merciful (or, by contrast, when we’re stingy or vengeful), we create a kind of micro-climate around us where the people we interact with experience mercy (or stinginess, or
vengeance). But we, too, have to live in that very climate. If it’s an atmosphere full of mercy, we’ll experience mercy. If it’s full of judgment, we’ll experience judgment. Forgiveness, it turns out, is an environmental issue: the world we make is the world we’ll inhabit.
If God forgives us and we forgive one another, we may create a realm and atmosphere of mercy, a taste of what Jesus calls “the Kingdom of
Heaven.” Of course, this is true in our personal lives and communities, but it’s equally valid in the wider world, full of division, resentment, and violence. Each of us is called to model the blessings of forgiveness since even the most minor moments of mercy have ripple effects far and wide.
Like a loving parent, God continually calls us to be our best selves and, at the same time, generously forgives us when
we fall short. And this generosity itself is also a call for us to do the same with one another.
How can you develop an atmosphere of forgiveness and mercy in your life? What would this look like in your family, friends, church and workplace circles?
Reflections by Rev Joe Taylor
