Christ said that he who has been forgiven much loves much. And we can complete the argument by adding that he who loves much will be quick to forgive. What we receive from our God we pass on to our brothers and sisters, and it grows and grows in the giving.

At this table we see the peace of God lavishly given away. Remember, Christianity is the way that sin is dealt with, and it’s the only way sin is really dealt with. So all week you’ve been sinning and when you stumble up the stairs on Sunday morning, you are stained and smeared with sin. But God invites you to confess your sins and if you do, then he cleanses you. And once clean, you are invited to his table to partake in peace with all the household of God.

God forgave all your sins and he invites you to taste that forgiveness again and again in bread and wine. But then you pass the bread and wine to your brother or sister. Thus the peace of God spreads.

So you have been forgiven much. In spite of your traitorous conduct, you have been brought into the household of God, entirely undeserved. And this bread and wine are a mandate to you to pass the peace, meaning to forgive your brothers and sisters when they sin against you, and to seek their forgiveness when you sin against them. There will be ample opportunity.

This doesn’t mean excusing sin or claiming that it isn’t that bad after all. You cannot forgive where there is no repentance. But you can stand ready. You can have forgiveness wrapped like a present and waiting for them. You can (and must) slay the bitterness that tries to fester in your heart. And then you pass on to them what God has given to you.