Jesus told His disciples, "You must be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." How can we be perfect, we ask, as we are so painfully conscious of our own weaknesses and imperfections? In Luke 6:36-38, Jesus explains how we are to be perfect when He says, "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." He adds, "Do not judge, do not condemn."
That reminds me of a story of a Christian family, father, mother and children who had worked for a number of years as missionaries in another country. One day someone killed the father and the children. We can imagine how tragic that was for the wife, the only survivor. She was interviewed on television where she said that her family had been so happy in that country where she had experienced so much goodness. Then she said that, as a Christian, she forgave the killer of her family. It was said that her words of forgiveness did more for the understanding of Christianity in five minutes than all the previous years of evangelization.
We know that God forgives us because He is compassionate with our failings. Yet we still find it difficult to forgive others who insult or treat us badly. Today, let us reflect on the many times we have been forgiven by our loving Father who understands our weaknesses so that we in our turn may have the compassion to forgive the weaknesses of "those who trespass against us by treating us badly."