Sermon in a Bottle

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time -- A.  "Forgive your neighbor's injustice."

Given today's readings, every Christian preacher's temptation in the U.S.A. this weekend is rhetorically to ask, "Do you forgive Osama bin Ladin?"  This is misguided.  Better questions are "Were Osama bin Ladin and the murderous terrorists your neighbor?  Is your co-worker your neighbor?  Are the immigrants without papers in your neighborhood your neighbor?"  The fact is, we don't get to pick our neighbors.  Until the interconnectedness of Christ's vision of humanity (and a deep sense of the common good) supercedes the indvidualism of American cultural norms, we cannot even think about forgiving any neighbor.