Saint Paul wrote in today’s first reading in his letter to Titus:
“For a bishop as God’s steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents.”
Sometimes bishops fail to set a good example for their flock, but in a smaller way, mothers and fathers can also fail to set a good example for their children. Catholics in general can give a bad example for our Catholic faith in the public eye too. We often forget that we represent the Catholic church in public, through our every day encounters with others.
Bishops are in the public eye so much of the time though, that every little word or action is often open to public scrutiny. They are on public display, and held to a much higher standard than what many of us can ever hope to achieve in our own lives.
Today’s first reading for Mass is the ideal that we all strive for. No one is excluded from this standard of Christian behavior. We shouldn’t be surprised to learn of a bishop who becomes an alcoholic, leaves the priesthood, is overly materialistic, or commits a serious sin. The laity commits these same sins too. Even though we put our priests on a pedestal, and hold them to a higher standard than the rest of us, it doesn’t mean they are not human beings with weaknesses of their own too.
In today’s gospel, Jesus talks about the need for forgiveness though. Whatever a person does that is wrong should not be etched in stone forever. If it is etched in stone forever in the hardness of our hearts, then we are not following Christ’s command to forgive others when they sin. Nothing should be etched in stone during our lifetime. Everyone deserves a second chance. Jesus even indicates that people often deserve many second chances.
This is enough to think about today. Are there things that people have done in the past that you can’t get out of your mind? That their actions continue to damage the way you view them? Will they ever be redeemed enough in your eyes for their past actions to not just be forgiven, but forgotten?
Have you ever done something wrong, or hurt another person, and they forgave you for it and acted like they never even remembered it later? This is such a grace, if you have ever experienced it. This is how Jesus forgives us too. Completely, absolutely, and without leaving a trace behind.
To learn how to do this as well, is not just the challenge for today, it is the challenge of our lifetime.
Daily Mass Readings:
Titus 1: 1-9 / Psalm 24 / Luke 17: 1-6
