We continue in the theme of righteous and holy living toward others, found in last weekend's liturgy as well as this weekend's as we turn our attention to forgiveness. God forgave us the immense debt of our sin, because we had no way otherwise to possibly pay it. God, Who is Just and immensely kind, bestowed His powerful mercy on us and forgave us our sins.
Once we have received the mercy, we are called to follow God's pattern and live a life in which we constantly forgive and extend mercy to others, just as the reading from Sirach discusses through exhortations to forgive. We cannot simply count on receiving mercy, but we must also demonstrate how mercy has transformed us, and how we live to honor the God Who forgives us, by forgiving others. We no longer live just ourselves, but we live for God, Who is, as St. Paul writes, Lord of all, the living and the dead, Whose merciful presence compels us to live that mercy. We don't limit forgiveness to a specific number of times like St. Peter seems to suggest by his question at the start of the Gospel reading, but extend it abundantly as our God does to us.
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