26 March 2019
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Daniel 3:25,34-43
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Matthew 18:21-35
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Treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle and very merciful
I had a bit of a run-in with a vendor last week at work and came away disappointed at his attitude towards not just me, but to his situation as a young business owner. To be fair to the young chap, he did call me 30 minutes later to apologise for his attitude but the damage had been done and all I said was “It’s OK. It is just work.” Having been in his shoes before as a small business owner, I was flabbergasted that he would have used the language he did in our chat. Back in the day, however ‘bad’ a situation got with any client of mine, I still respected them as my customers and would never talk back at them.
Perhaps times have changed and the newer generation of entrepreneurs is more vocal and are prepared to stand their ground more, or even turn their back on a customer because they believe in their principles. So in calling for a ‘clear the air’ meeting within 48 hours, I took the approach of offering everyone around the table a chance to learn from this experience. I decided that the best outcome would have to stem from a gentler approach to the situation and in hearing all the grievances and challenges the young team faced in trying to deliver our project.
In today’s gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the ungrateful servant to demonstrate how God will look upon us on our day of reckoning. For it is not so much how we treat those who are good to us that matters, but those who wrong us. How Christ-like are we going to be to the neighbour who always parks in our spot, to the family member who finds a way to always use our favourite mug or even our own bathroom? How do we react to a boss who has a habit of speaking ill of us in front of our colleagues, or a ministry member who talks a lot at meetings and then does not show up when it matters. Are we compassionate, or do we pass judgement, as if we are God?
Brothers and sisters, if we go about our daily lives looking to judge others for their actions without first understanding why they seem to always be doing us wrong, then we are not destined for happiness. Because we will end up questioning others all the time, instead of embracing them and acknowledging their weaknesses and faults. The more we can get rid of this ‘tit for tat’ mentality in our lives, the more open we are to allow God’s healing graces to flow within us.
Then, as we learn to embrace others, warts and all, we will come to the realization that all of us are the same in the eyes of God. That no one deserves more or less than the other brother or sister; everyone deserves the same measure of love from God – infinite, boundless and indescribable.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)
Prayer: Father, grace us with the humility of Mother Mary and the love of your son Jesus Christ so that we can in turn love as they did.
Thanksgiving: We thank you Father, for your gift of love.