Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost: Gospel, Luke 17:1-10                  

Luke 17:1-10

The suggested portion of this week’s gospel points to “Mustard Seed Faith.” It is a great text, but my attention went instead to the opening portion. Jesus is talking about offense being given. A subject no one in our society is unaware of. We have taken it to an unhealthy and oversensitive level in my humble opinion. But there are as Jesus points out, inevitable offenses. We all taste them at times.

As the passage unfolds, our Lord turns the focus to “Take heed to yourselves.” In other words, watch what you are doing. Watch what you are saying. Are you good at giving offense? And as Jesus so often does, he continues to move on to “where it really hurts.” The issue becomes in Jesus’ teaching, what if people do offend us? What then?

Jesus is a grand teacher. But doggone it, sometimes his lessons are tough. In effect, Jesus reminds us in a backhanded way that we are the cause of offense to our heavenly Father and yet he freely forgives us. So …. “If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

Bam! Could Jesus be more pointed? I don’t think so. If there is anything Jesus wants us to be skilled in, it’s forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t just a big deal. Forgiveness is BIG.