How Many Times Jesus?

Then Peter came and said to him, 

“Lord, if another member of the church sins against me,

 how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?”

 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but,

 I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

From Matthew 18:21-35 

Twenty two years have passed since I watched the destruction of the Twin Towers and attempt of the Pentagon. 

Instantly, the world and everything i knew was different and the world as was changed forever.

September 11, 2001, feels like a lifetime ago.

A calamity like that provides a major historical divider, but it's impossible to understand and use in my daily life.

So, I find other opportunities to use as markers othat are evidence of God's sustaining grace my daily life. 

Peter’s question here is one that may cause us to look in two directions.

One direction is looking back at 9/11 trying to understand it and grieve the destruction and violence. 

The other is looking forward by celebrating the courageous actions of mercy from first responders and the solidarity 9/11 created within us.

The choice to move forward is based on hope, possibility and the grace of God. 

Forgiveness is about lifting a burden, releasing a debt, refusing to allow the past to define the future.

 This is the lesson Jesus is teaching when Peter asks how many times to forgive before starting the biblical process, seven?

Jesus answer, 70 times 7, means always, which is the point of the parable.

How do we do that?

I my conviction is that God,  through Jesus, takes our  brokenness and suffering giving it a future that is, finally, good.

I amalso convinced that God is relentlessly working to bring redemption and healing even from the most difficult of circumstances whether globally, nationally or personally.