Once we’ve been offended or violated in some way, the walls begin to go up pretty quickly, don’t they?  And walls don’t normally appear out of nowhere; they arise one small brick at a time.  Most of us, when thinking of forgiving those who sin against us, think of the big sins, the criminal offenses that no one could blame us for harboring grievances over.

I suspect, though, it’s really the small, petty, boring sins that are the greater threat to our souls.  More often than not, the temptation to squirrel away a little resentment here and a little bitterness there is hard to resist—it even feels natural.  Before you know it, though, we’ve built for ourselves a wall.

Ironically, the very barriers we erect to protect ourselves from future harm also isolate us from intimacy with others in the present.  That’s the nature of walls:  they don’t merely keep enemies out; they keep everything and everyone out.

However, when we work forgiveness into the daily rhythm of our lives by recognizing and naming the smaller sins committed against us, we can re-purpose those bricks.  We find that we can use them to pave a smoother road of reconciliation and community than to erect a wall of isolation.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US

It would again be foolish and short-sighted of us to cry out for our own forgiveness while neglecting to forgive those who have sinned against us.  Make us mindful, Lord, of those against whom we hold grudges and resentments; make us courageous enough to face the wrongs done to us, whether intentional or not.  Let us fools bear with the foolishness of others.  Let us acknowledge the seething hurt, disappointment, anger and resentment that reside within us because of others’ sins against us.  These have birthed in us judgmental spirits and hardness of heart.  We offer You our wounds, O Crucified One—we refuse to cherish or nurse them.  We surrender our desire for vengeance and retaliation; enable us, Faithful God, to see our very own face in the face of those who have sinned against us, so that we can remember how prone we ourselves are to wound others.

[Call to mind specific sins committed against you or wounds you have suffered at the hands of others, large or small, intentional or unintentional.]