From the Deacon’s Desk 9/13/2020

Dear Friends:

Today we hear from the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35. Believe it or not, it is another story about forgiveness. Matthew and the other Gospel writers have been bombarding us with stories about forgiveness. Forgiveness must be a very important virtue for us to attain or else we would not be hearing so much about it. Today Peter approaches Jesus and asks him “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus says “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” This is serious business! In ancient times seven was called the perfect number. The root of this comes from the fact that there were seven known planets. When Jesus says to Peter not seven times but seventy-seven times, he means business.

I know over the past few weeks we have talked about this over and over. However, I feel we should just think about it again. Are we really forgiving when someone hurts us? Do we truly make an effort to forgive? When we forgive someone it does not mean that the pain we experience in our hearts goes away immediately. That pain may be with us for a long time. The key here is that we make a decision to forgive. We might still have pain and animosity; but even though we are still in pain, we ask the Lord to give us the courage to forgive. In some cases it may not be easy. The pain we feel may present a stumbling block in our intention to forgive. That is why it’s so important to ask the Lord to help us! Make an effort to forgive; it is what the Lord wants from us.

Peace and All Good!

Deacon Jim

If any of you are even a little like me you are beginning to feel very frustrated with the Corona Virus. We’ve been praying and praying that the Lord will remove this inconvenience from our lives and, if you please Lord, NOW! I know it’s getting old but let’s not let this get us down. The Lord is with us every day. He never lets us go unless we give up hope. Then it is our lack of faith that brings even additional hardship. Don’t give up.  He really is aware of our plight and knows we await his help. It’s coming I assure you!