Tenth Thursday of Ordinary Time

Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

Holding onto grudges is never healthy. Even if we think we are right and the other person is wrong, we should seek a way to settle our differences. Even if we feel unjustly persecuted, we should seek to make peace with them. Jesus did not seek apologies from those who sinned against God and him. He could have been mad at his persecutors when they beat him, denied him, and crucified him. But instead he asked His Father, Our Father, to forgive them for they knew not what they we doing. Sometimes the people who are mad at us don’t know what they are doing either and we should make every attempt to reconcile with them. Jesus could have been angry with his disciples when they fled from him, but he forgave them, gave them the Holy Spirit, and sent them out into the world to spread his Good News. If Jesus can forgive his persecutors and disciples, then who are we to withhold forgiveness to others?

Who are we holding grudges against? Who is holding a grudge against us? How can we settle our differences in a way that is healing for everyone?

O Lord, help us to forgive those who trespass against us and seek forgiveness for our own transgressions.

Amen.