Ezekiel 12:1-12 / Matthew 18:21 - 19:1
During the time of Jesus, the rabbis would teach the people about forgiveness.
They taught people to forgive those who offended them, but only to forgive three times.
They reckoned that after three times, the offender does not deserve any more forgiveness.
In the gospel, Peter thought he was exceptionally noble when he asked Jesus if seven times were enough.
Once again, Jesus showed that to be His disciples, we cannot count the times nor count the cost.
What Jesus said to Peter was simply this - forgive and keep forgiving.
And that is also what He is saying about our sins.
God will forgive us and He will keep forgiving us, because God is love and forgiveness.
There is this story about a man who was skeptical about going for confession.
So he told the priest: The next time you pray, why not you ask Jesus what was my greatest sin. If Jesus can tell you my greatest sin, then I might consider coming for confession.
A few days later, he met the priest and so he asked: So did Jesus tell you what was my greatest sin?
The priest answered: Oh, I did ask Jesus. He said that He has already forgiven you that sin. But He said that you still must go to confession for it.
It may be a witty reply but it is nonetheless the reality.
God is sure to forgive; but we must also ask for forgiveness and want to be forgiven.