The crossing of a river often signifies a new stage of life and a break with the past. The Israelites had been wandering for forty years in the wilderness and now the day had arrived. They were entering the Promised Land. As the Ark of the Covenant was carried across, the waters stopped. God provided pathways. The people were able to walk on dry land, just as when they crossed the sea during the Exodus.

Many people have trouble forgiving someone even once. Peter asked Jesus about the number of times they had to forgive someone. Probably with a smile, Jesus replied, 'Not seventy, but seventy times seven.' Like saying a 'zillion times.' He then told the parable of a slave who had been forgiven a debt by his master, but when the slave encountered a fellow slave who owed him a mere fraction of what he himself had been forgiven, he seized the fellow slave and threw him in prison with his family. When the master learned of this, he was furious and raged at the first slave. He now demanded full payment, for he rescinded his forgiveness of debt. The parable ends with an ominous warning: a like fate awaits you if you refuse to forgive. Your own debts will not be cancelled. Forgiveness is not optional - it is at the core of our faith. We have all been forgiven so much, so let us not be stingy in return.