In today’s Gospel, our Lord warns of things that cause sin—literally, a scandal or stumbling-block (skandalon in Greek). And these “stumbling-blocks” that we place in one another’s path—even though they may seem like pebbles and small stones from a certain perspective—are dangerous enough that Jesus declares that it would be better for one if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than to cause scandal. It is an image that should give us pause, prompting us to examine how our own actions impact those of our brothers and sisters.
And what is the remedy that Jesus prescribes for our propensity to lead one another into sin? If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him, even seven times in one day. In essence, it is to not let ourselves be scandalized by sin, returning wrongs with gentle correction and forgiveness rather than responding to our brother or sister’s sin with a sinful reaction of our own. Importantly, this attitude also implies a willingness to receive correction and to ask for forgiveness when we ourselves fall into sin, since we ourselves are also constantly growing in freedom and virtue.
Let us pray today, then, for the gift of hearts that forgive, that are neither scandalized by sin nor a cause of others’ sin: hearts like the heart of Christ.