Last week I came across this story which illustrates the theme of Sunday’s Gospel – forgiveness. John R. Aurelio, in his book Colours: Stories of the Kingdom, gives us a beautiful portrayal of this side of God. He writes: On the sixth day, God created Father Adam and Mother Eve. On the seventh day, as God was resting, they asked Him if He would give them something special to commemorate their birthday. So, God reached into His treasure chest and took out a sacred coin. Written on it was the word “LOVE.” On the eighth day, Father Adam and Mother Eve sinned. As they left the Garden of Eden, they asked God for an assurance that He would not abandon them. “You have the coin,” He told them. “But, the coin says LOVE,” they answered. “We have lost love. However will we find it again?” “Turn it over,” God said. On the other side of the coin was written the word “FORGIVENESS.” — There is great truth in that. There is no love without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love. They are the two sides of the same coin. The Good News is that God loves you no matter what you’ve done or what you’ve thought of doing. God loves you. That’s the bottom line: God loves you. And God wants each of us to turn over the coin.