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Forgiveness Creates A Win-Win

Jesus told a parable about a rich man and his dishonest manager. This manager was a shrewd operator, but he was fired for not bringing in as much money as he could have. Before he left, he went to all the people who owed the rich man money and drastically reduced their debts. He had no authority to do this, and legally, it was a dishonest act. Yet, when the rich man discovered what had happened, he commended the manager for his cleverness. Why? Because the manager had created a win-win situation. The debtors were overjoyed, morale skyrocketed, and productivity increased. The rich man, in the end, looked incredibly generous and couldn't risk revealing the truth, so he went along with it.

The moral of this story, as Jesus explains, is to "make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes." While this can sound jarring, the message is simple: forgive. Whether it's a financial debt or an emotional one, forgiveness is the path to participating in God's goodness. In the Lord's Prayer, we are told to "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." The original Greek uses financial terms, reminding us that forgiveness, in its most basic form, starts with tangible things. God has forgiven us of our immense debt to him, a forgiveness that was embodied on the cross at a great cost. When we forgive, we participate in that same divine power and become more like him.

Forgiveness is not always easy. It's not something we can summon up on our own. It's an act of faith, a leap of trust that we are participating in God's work in the world. Whether we are motivated by virtue, fear, or self-interest, the act of forgiving brings us closer to the God who has forgiven us everything.

I challenge every Catholic to ask themselves: What debt can you forgive today?

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