Back in 1981 there was an attempt on the life of Pope John Paul. Fortunately, the Pope lived. After he recovered, he shocked the world when he made a visit to Rome's Rabbibia Prison to see the man who had attempted to assassinate him on Christmas day. Millions watched on television as the Pope visited with Mehmet Ali Agca, who only two years before had tried to assassinate him. The white-robed Pope and jean-clad terrorist huddled in the dark prison cell for 20 minutes, talking in low voices that could not be heard. When he emerged John Paul explained, "I spoke to a brother whom I have pardoned." I will never forget the headline the next week in Time Magazine, "Why forgive?" That is a good question, one that has been asked for centuries. It was asked by Peter in verse 21 of the passage that was read this morning (Matt 18). If you have not asked the question; wait, you will someday.

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Note: After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy where he was visited by the Pope, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a ten-year sentence. In 2007, he converted to Roman Catholicism and was released from jail on 18 January 2010. However, a credible conversion is not possible to assess since he was subsequently diagnosed as having "antisocial personality disorder." In a statement, he announced: "I will meet you in the next three days. In the name of God Almighty, I proclaim the end of the world in this century. All the world will be destroyed, every human being will die. I am not God, I am not son of God, I am Christ eternal." He visited the tomb of John Paul II on 27 December 2014.