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Gospel: Luke 17: 1-6
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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The Japanese have a fascinating custom called Kintsugi.
When an object breaks, they don’t throw it away; rather, they piece it back together using gold flecked with glue. They say that breakage and repair are all part of the history of the object; the focus is not on the breakage, but on the fact that the object was repaired.
In fact, some artists will intentionally break an object in order to celebrate the art of restoration.
Or, using today’s Gospel imagery, the art of forgiveness.
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Much like breathing, forgiveness is an exercise essential to healthy living in this world, because none of us is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes; we all carry regret; we’ve all been hurt.
Sometimes, we need to forgive people – even those who are not sorry – in order to expel any anger from our heart. But today Jesus addresses a fuller exercise of forgiveness whereby there is reconciliation.
“If your brother or sister repents,” he says, “forgive them.”
Forgiveness in this sense acknowledges there’s been a break in a relationship, but both parties desire to repair it.
The Apostles acknowledge how hard it can be to let hurt feelings go, even if the other person is sorry, causing them to cry out, “Increase our faith!”
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May God soften our hearts, so that our outlook is never centered on the fact that we’ve been broken.
Rather, on the possibility of being restored.
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Image credits: (1) Cara Ray’s (2) Zen Art Gallery (3) Our Sunday Visitor