Gratitude and Forgiveness

Colossians 3:12-17, Psalm 150, Luke 6:27-38

The Apostle Paul writing to the Christian community at Colossae reminds them of the virtues that every Christian should be identified with. This includes: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. He reminds them to always be thankful, to teach and admonish one another and to forgive each other. He is not telling them a new thing. He is reminding them those things they already know.

Luke’s Gospel adds “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you; Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” And the Psalmist reminds us: “Let everything that breathes (that lives) give praise to the Lord.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the common theme that runs through today’s readings are gratitude and forgiveness. We should never forget to give thanks to God for life and for all the good things we have received. We should also be able to forgive those who try to pull us down; those who ignore us; those who hurt us; those who make us feel rejected. But we must also be able to forgive ourselves.

When the Law of God says “love your neighbor as yourself”; it also means that you cannot love your neighbor; if you do not first of all love yourself. In the same vein; you may not be able to forgive others, if you are not able to forgive yourself. So whatever trauma, bad feeling, past memory that makes you vengeful and resentful, remember that the path to healing from them is to first of all forgive yourself.

Life is a gift and must always be received with gratitude. We should not also allow bad memories from past events stand in our way of accepting the gift of today with gratitude. Our people say, once there is life, there is hope. With patience, humility, we are confident that God who has given us this day will be kind enough to see us through; granting us the necessary mental strength and sagacity to forgive the past and embrace today’s prospects with gratitude, confidence and love.

It is a new day, and we are here to thank God for yet another day. May whatever we do this day, in word or deed, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Amen.