2020년 9월 13일 연중 제24주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
집회서. 27,30ㅡ28,7
30 분노와 진노 역시 혐오스러운 것인데도 죄지은 사람은 이것들을 지니고 있다.
28,1 복수하는 자는 주님의 복수를 만나게 되리라.
그분께서는 그의 죄악을 엄격히 헤아리시리라.
2 네 이웃의 불의를 용서하여라.
그러면 네가 간청할 때 네 죄도 없어지리라.
3 인간이 인간에게 화를 품고서 주님께 치유를 구할 수 있겠느냐?
4 인간이 같은 인간에게 자비를 품지 않으면서
자기 죄의 용서를 청할 수 있겠느냐?
5 죽을 몸으로 태어난 인간이 분노를 품고 있으면
누가 그의 죄를 사해 줄 수 있겠느냐?
6 종말을 생각하고 적개심을 버려라. 파멸과 죽음을 생각하고 계명에 충실하여라.
7 계명을 기억하고 이웃에게 분노하지 마라.
지극히 높으신 분의 계약을 기억하고 잘못을 눈감아 주어라.
제2독서
로마서. 14,7-9
형제 여러분,
7 우리 가운데에는 자신을 위하여 사는 사람도 없고
자신을 위하여 죽는 사람도 없습니다.
8 우리는 살아도 주님을 위하여 살고 죽어도 주님을 위하여 죽습니다.
그러므로 우리는 살든지 죽든지 주님의 것입니다.
9 그리스도께서 돌아가셨다가 살아나신 것은,
바로 죽은 이들과 산 이들의 주님이 되시기 위해서입니다.
복음
마태오. 18,21-35
21 그때에 베드로가 예수님께 다가와,
“주님, 제 형제가 저에게 죄를 지으면 몇 번이나 용서해 주어야 합니까?
일곱 번까지 해야 합니까?” 하고 물었다.
22 예수님께서 그에게 대답하셨다.
“내가 너에게 말한다.
일곱 번이 아니라 일흔일곱 번까지라도 용서해야 한다.
23 그러므로 하늘 나라는 자기 종들과 셈을 하려는 어떤 임금에게 비길 수 있다.
24 임금이 셈을 하기 시작하자 만 탈렌트를 빚진 사람 하나가 끌려왔다.
25 그런데 그가 빚을 갚을 길이 없으므로,
주인은 그 종에게 자신과 아내와 자식과
그 밖에 가진 것을 다 팔아서 갚으라고 명령하였다.
26 그러자 그 종이 엎드려 절하며,
‘제발 참아 주십시오. 제가 다 갚겠습니다.’ 하고 말하였다.
27 그 종의 주인은 가엾은 마음이 들어,
그를 놓아주고 부채도 탕감해 주었다.
28 그런데 그 종이 나가서 자기에게 백 데나리온을 빚진 동료 하나를 만났다.
그러자 그를 붙들어 멱살을 잡고
‘빚진 것을 갚아라.’ 하고 말하였다.
29 그의 동료는 엎드려서, ‘제발 참아 주게. 내가 갚겠네.’ 하고 청하였다.
30 그러나 그는 들어주려고 하지 않았다.
그리고 가서 그 동료가 빚진 것을 다 갚을 때까지 감옥에 가두었다.
31 동료들이 그렇게 벌어진 일을 보고 너무 안타까운 나머지,
주인에게 가서 그 일을 죄다 일렀다.
32 그러자 주인이 그 종을 불러들여 말하였다.
‘이 악한 종아, 네가 청하기에 나는 너에게 빚을 다 탕감해 주었다.
33 내가 너에게 자비를 베푼 것처럼
너도 네 동료에게 자비를 베풀었어야 하지 않느냐?’
34 그러고 나서 화가 난 주인은 그를 고문 형리에게 넘겨
빚진 것을 다 갚게 하였다.
35 너희가 저마다 자기 형제를 마음으로부터 용서하지 않으면,
하늘의 내 아버지께서도 너희에게 그와 같이 하실 것이다.”
SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
READING 1
SIR 27:30-28:7
Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor's injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
R. (8) The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
READING 2
ROM 14:7-9
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
GOSPEL
MT 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
“Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” Sirach
In junior high, several “mean girls” frequently shoved me into trees and pulled my hair because I was a small, awkward nerd with a “bully me” target on my back. More than 50 years later I almost skipped our high school class reunion to avoid seeing the ring leader.
“Isn’t it time you got over that?” asked my saintly cousin.
He was right but today’s readings made me realize how hard it is to forget things we think we’ve forgiven, like being bullied. “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”
It’s something all of us need to work on. You don’t get through life without hurting others and being hurt. It’s pretty easy to SAY you forgive someone but actually DOING it (if you’re honest with yourself) is another matter.
One of the most useful models for forgiveness that I have encountered comes from AA, the step where the person in recovery makes amends to everyone they have hurt. It’s healing for both parties as I discovered when someone I am extremely close to went through the process.
You don’t have to be in a 12- step program to do it – just a simple note or phone call can help heal a broken relationship if both parties are open to it.
It helps to recognize that we can become better, deeper and more compassionate people from experiencing the hurts others inflict on us. Would I have the inordinate number of amazing friends who have blessed my life if grade school hadn’t been so awful? Who knows, but we have to trust that “God writes straight with crooked lines.”
If nothing else, we almost always feel better when we try to forgive and forget rather than cherishing favorite grudges. We know that God is merciful and understands our struggles so we’re not doing this unassisted.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
THANK YOU FOR COMMANDING THE IMPOSSIBLE
“Then in anger the master handed him over to the torturers until he paid back all that he owed. My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” —Matthew 18:34-35
If we don’t accept the grace to forgive those who have sinned against us:
• the Lord remembers our sins in detail (see Sir 28:1),
• we should not expect to be healed by the Lord (Sir 28:3),
• we will not be forgiven (Sir 28:2, 4-5), and
• we will be handed over to torturers, such as compulsiveness, fear, depression, self-hatred, anxiety, and other evils (Mt 18:34-35).
Therefore, we must accept the grace to forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ immediately (see Mt 5:25), repeatedly (Mt 18:22), and from the heart (Mt 18:35). This applies not only to those who have stopped sinning against us but also to those continuing to sin against us. This applies even to our enemies.
Obviously, it is humanly impossible to forgive. “To err is human; to forgive is divine” (quoted from Alexander Pope). Our only hope is to turn to the Lord, Who is divine. He always provides the grace to obey His commands. He raises us above our human limitations to empower us to choose to forgive immediately all who have sinned against us. Jesus gives us the privilege to live in the new world of grace and mercy. How awesome it is to share in the miracle and mystery of forgiving! Thank You, Jesus, for Your command that we forgive from the heart 70 x 7 times! (Mt 18:22) Thank You for grace and mercy beyond measure! Alleluia!
Prayer: Father, may I look at forgiving others the way You do.
Promise: “None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master. While we live we are responsible to the Lord, and when we die we die as His servants.” —Rm 14:7-8
Praise: Lord, You are descended from David yet Son of God (Rm 1:3-4). Praise You Jesus!
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Does mercy overlook justice? Justice demands that everyone be given their due. So when is it right to show mercy and pardon to those who have acted unjustly or wrongly? The prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving transgression three times, but warns that God may not revoke punishment for the fourth (see Amos 1:3-13; 2:1-6). When Peter posed the question of forgiveness, he characteristically offered an answer he thought Jesus would be pleased with. Why not forgive seven times! How unthinkable for Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must forgive seventy times that.
No limit to granting forgiveness and pardon
Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit to giving and receiving forgiveness. He drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province - more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however, bring himself to forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about one-hundred-thousandth of his own debt.The contrast could not have been greater!
Jesus paid our ransom to set us free from the debt of sin
No offense our neighbor can do to us can compare with our own personal debt to God for offending him! We have been forgiven an enormous debt we could not repay on our own. That is why the Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely and willing gave up his life for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Paul the Apostle states, "you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23 ) and that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness and pardon for our offenses, but release from our captivity to Satan and bondage to sin.
Set free from futile thinking and sinful living
The Lord Jesus sets us free from a futile mind and way of living in sin and spiritual darkness. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers ...with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways of wrong thinking, sinful attitudes and wrong behavior, and disregarding or treating God's commandments lightly. We have been forgiven an enormous debt which we could never possibly repay. We owe God a debt of gratitude for the mercy and grace he has given us in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Forgiving others is a sacred duty
If God has shown mercy to us in granting us pardon for our sins, then we, in turn, must show mercy and forgiveness towards every person who has offended us. The willingness to forgive those who offend us is a sacred duty. If we expect God to pardon us and show us his mercy when we sin and disobey his commandments, then we must be willing to let go of any resentment, grievance, or ill-will we feel towards our neighbor. Jesus teaches us to pray daily for the grace and strength to forgive others in the same measure in which God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12,14-15). If we do not show mercy and forgiveness to our fellow human beings, how can we expect God to forgive us in turn? The Apostle James says that "judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
Mercy seasons justice and perfects it
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercyseasons justice assalt seasons meat and gives it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. Justice demands that the wrong be addressed. To show mercy without addressing the wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a 20th century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others from the heart as God has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment towards anyone? Ask the Lord to purify your heart that you may show mercy and loving-kindness to all - and especially to those who cause you grief and ill-will.
Lord Jesus, you have been kind and forgiving towards me. May I be merciful as you are merciful. Free me from all bitterness and resentment that I may truly forgive from the heart those who have caused me injury or grief.
Psalm 103:1-5, 8-13
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: How often shall I forgive? by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, 'Not up to seven times but up to seventy times seven times'" In every way he teaches us to be like him in humility and goodness. In weakening and breaking the impulses of our rampant passions he strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by granting us in faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did not merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he pardons even those sins that remain in one after confession. The penalty to be paid through Cain was established at sevenfold, but that sin was against a man, against his brother Abel, to the point of murder (Genesis 4:8). But in Lamech the penalty was established at seventy times seven times (Genesis 4:24), and, as we believe, the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lord's Passion. But the Lord through the confession of believers grants pardon for this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace of salvation to his revilers and persecutors. How much more is it necessary, he shows, that pardon be returned by us without measure or number. And we should not think how many times we forgive, but we should cease to be angry with those who sin against us, as often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardon's frequency shows us that in our case there is never a time for anger, since God pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than by our merit. Nor should we be excused from the requirement of giving pardon that number of times [i.e., seventy times seven], since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us pardon without measure." (excerpt from ON MATTHEW 18.10)
http://www.homilies.net/
Homily from Father James Gilhooley
24 Ordinary Time
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - A Cycle - Matthew 18:21-35
A man was told that his brother had died. He said amidst tears, "Damn, I was just ready to forgive him."
Were I to play Question Man and ask what the most common sin is, most would answer, "Sexual sins." They would be wrong. The omnipresent sin of many is refusing to forgive others. Yet, the obligation to forgive is mentioned more times in the Scriptures than purity - 108 times.
We must be grateful to Peter for pushing the envelope today. His question to Jesus caused Him to discuss material He was not planning to. The Parable of Forgiveness is an example. Without Peter, we would have one parable less. (William Barclay)
"If my brother strikes me," says Peter, "I'll forgive him seven times." He expected Jesus to say, "Bravo, Rocky. You're a real sport." Instead Christ is ticked off.
A commentary points out the Parable of Forgiveness is a three act play. The first act's theme is mercy. The servant owes millions of dollars to the king - a king's ransom. He begs his king for more time. His Majesty puts the IOU in the shredder. Noblesse oblige, The servant weeps with thanks. The first act is done.
The second act's theme is cruelty. The forgiven servant meets a friend who owes him chump change. "Gimmeabreak," the friend pleads. The forgiven man grabs him by the throat. He throws him into debtor's prison. No shredder for him. No noblesse oblige.
He demands a standard he can't observe himself. We are here discussing a common weakness. One author puts the case this way. "I can see your faults clearly, but I can't see mine. If I tell you off, I level with you. If you lay me out, you're out of order. If I say no to your request, I show good judgment. If you say no to me, you're wrong. If you ask me for a dollar and I say no, I make you self-reliant. But if you refuse me, you're cheap. If I mess up, I make an excuse. Were you to use the same excuse, I would laugh at you."
Our willingness to be stingy with forgiveness flourishes. Like Shakespeare's King Lear, we regard ourselves as more sinned against than sinning. In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, our fellow Christians accused the Jewish Shylock of being unforgiving. But, once they were behind the money tables, they were unforgiving themselves.
Not forgiving makes us ill. There is no heavier load than a chip on the shoulder. (Unknown)
Longfellow wrote, "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each one's life sorrow enough to disarm our hostility."
Besides, Oscar Wilde wryly noted, "Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them more."
The curtain goes up on the final act. Jesus throws a knuckle ball. The spotlight is not on the cruel servant but on the king. In the Nazarene's mind, the king is a stand in for His Father. The king behaves to the unforgiving servant as God will to those of us who will not forgive. He forgives us only if we forgive others.
If you need more evidence, think of "blessed are the merciful, for they shall see mercy." Or "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." You will recall the author of those words. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. (Francis of Assisi)
Love in return for love is natural. Love in return for hate is supernatural. Incidentally, to say you'll forgive but won't forget is like burying the hatchet with the handle sticking out. (Unknown)
You cannot expect to keep God's forgiveness unless you give it away to the next person who wrongs you. The Chairman of our Board lays on us a simple mandate. In it there are but two clauses. There is no need for an attorney to explain them. Firstly, we must ask God's forgiveness. Then we must forgive others.
The preacher said to err is human and to forgive divine. When it comes to forgiveness, Christ calls us all to divinity.
If condemnation is not God's style, it should not to ours either. Besides, getting even is not good. Getting on with one's life is. If you don't forgive, you lock yourself in an asylum. You are the patient. Forgiveness in this context is a miracle drug. (James Tahaney)
A black child spoke at a mission. "Because of the graces here I forgive the white men who lynched my pa." She subscribed to the aphorism that forgiveness is not a case of amnesia that wipes out the past. Instead it is the experience of healing that drains the wound's pus.
Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
Frjoeshomilies.net
24 Ordinary Time
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Are there limits to forgiveness?
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive, as many as seven times?”
“I say to you, not seven times but as many as seventy-seven times.”
Do not be concerned with the number 77. Jesus was using this number to say that the amount of times we should forgive is far greater than we could imagine. For the true follower of Christ, there can be no limits to how many times or how much he or she forgives. The Christian realizes the great mercy he or she has received from a God who sent His Son to become one of us to die for us so that we can have eternal life. The Christian understands that next to the forgiveness we have received from God there can be no limit to the forgiveness he or she extends to others.
I want to illustrate this with two true stories.
On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The gunman was Charles Carl Roberts, a married man with three children. No one knows why he did what he did. Perhaps he was suffering from some mental or psychological illness. Maybe he just hated the Amish. No one knows why he did what he did. They just know what happened. Roberts pulled his pickup truck up to the school and asked the teacher if she or any of the children had seen something he said he had lost on the road. When they said, “No,” he went to his truck and returned with a gun. He ordered the boys to help carry some things into the classroom from his truck and the girls to stand in front of the chalkboard. The girls were ages 6 through 13. He allowed a pregnant woman, three parents with babies and all the boys to exit the building. The older girls realized what was happening and two of them Marian and Barbara Fisher, 13 and 11, asked Roberts if he would just shoot them and let the other girls go. He did shoot them, but he also fired a total of 13 rounds, killing 5 and injuring 3 more before taking his own life.
On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, "We must not think evil of this man." Another Amish father noted, "He had a mother and a wife and a soul, and now he's standing before a just God." Jack Meyer, a member of the Brethren community living near the Amish in Lancaster County, explained: "I don't think there's anybody here that wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way but to reach out to the family of the man who committed these acts."
A Roberts family spokesman said an Amish neighbor comforted the Roberts family hours after the shooting and extended forgiveness to them. Amish Community members visited and comforted Roberts' widow, parents, and parents-in-law. One Amish man held Roberts' sobbing father in his arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to comfort him. The Amish also set up a charitable fund for the family of the shooter. About 30 members of the Amish community attended Roberts' funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow of the killer, was one of the few outsiders invited to the funeral of one of the victims. Marie Roberts wrote an open letter to her Amish neighbors thanking them for their forgiveness, grace, and mercy. She wrote, "Your love for our family has helped to provide the healing we so desperately need. Gifts you've given have touched our hearts in a way no words can describe. Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you."
Here’s a second story that is less radical in its forgiveness, but describes an incident more typical than a mass murder. A few years ago Thomas Fleming died at the age of 90 years old. Fleming was a famous historian known for his revolutionary war works. He tells this story about his father. I couldn’t find the father’s name, so lets just call him Patrick. Patrick had to go work right out of grade school in order to help provide for their large Catholic family. Now this was over a hundred years ago in Jersey City, New Jersey. Patrick had small delicate hands, perfect for working with watches. One of his friends showed him how to take a watch apart. Patrick studied and studied watches, and soon he was able to get a job in the watch factory owned by a very rich family, the Blaine family. The job would pay one dollar a day. That was big money back in those days. But, there was one problem. When the workers came to the factory every day, they would be asked, “Catholic or Protestant.” If they answered “Catholic,” there would be no work for them. For years the young man bit his lip and said, “Protestant.” He eventually married and started his own family, but still had to work at the factory and state each day that he was Protestant.
Then everything changed. In 1929, the stock market crashed. The factory closed, and the Blaine family was left penniless. Meanwhile, Patrick had saved his money and opened his own watch repair store, then another and then another. He married and told his story to his son, Thomas, when the boy was about ten. Soon after that, around 1940, the doorbell rang in the Fleming home. There wearing a tattered cloak and looking emaciated and sick, stood Mr. Blaine. He asked Patrick if he could possibly find some work for him. Listening from the top of the stairs, Thomas wanted his father to turn him away, or at least to ask him: “Are you Catholic or Protestant.” Instead, his dad just said that he could benefit from someone doing his bookwork for all the stores, “Would Mr. Blaine consider this?”
“Certainly,” said Mr. Blaine.
“Then, you are hired,” said Mr. Fleming.
And without doubt, at the same time the Lord said to Thomas’ Dad, “And you are forgiven any sins you have committed, Mr. Fleming.”
Forgiveness. Forgiveness brings healing. Forgiveness brings the mercy of God. Holding on to anger only brings more suffering, particularly for the person who harbors hate.
The first servant in the Gospel parable for this Sunday owed a huge debt. The translation we used for Mass just says "huge", but the Greek says he owed ten thousand talents. One talent represented fifteen years of daily wages. This man was in deep financial trouble. He would have to work for 15,000 years to pay this off. This impossible debt was totally dismissed by the king in the parable. That was shocking, and wonderful.
The second servant owed the first a large, but payable debt, 100 denarii. That was the equivalent of 100 days wages. Difficult, but payable. Certainly, not in the same league as the first debt. “A mere fraction” our translation says. 1/54,750th if you want to be exact about it. As you are aware, the first servant refused mercy to the second, and the result is he lost the mercy that had been offered to him by the Master.
It is obvious that the parable is comparing what God has forgiven each of us with those who owe us so much less than we owe God.
We strive for this ideal. It is also one of the hardest tasks of Christianity.
Sometimes people will say, "I can’t forgive and forget. I can never forget what he or she did to me or to my family." Forgetting might not be possible. It also might not be the best thing to do. If a man punches you in the face, you should forgive him, but it would be wise to avoid him, or at least wear a hockey mask the next time you see him. Forgetting is not part of the gospel requirement. Forgiveness is.
The focus of our forgiveness should not just be on the person we are forgiving, or even the particular action we are forgiving. The focus of our forgiveness should primarily be on getting back on track with our lives. That is what the Amish people did after the terrible event in Pennsylvania. That is what Thomas Flemings’ father did. When you really think about it, all forgiveness ends up with oneself. We need to survive and move on from our hurts, or we will always be bogged down by our anger. We need to forgive the people who have hurt us--and we all have a thousand battle stories--we need to forgive the people who have hurt us so we can be people who don't hurt others.
The unmerciful servant ruined a golden opportunity. He could have become a person of kindness and gentleness, reflecting a small portion of the forgiveness he had received. Instead, he held onto his past, his anger at the money still unpaid. His refusal to forgive destroyed him.
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Those are some of the most healing words in scripture. They are also some of the most difficult words in scripture. We might not want to forgive others, but the pain we have received from others is minor in comparison to the gifts God has given us. Look at all that we have received from the Lord. We have received love, the great gift of living eternally in God's love.
Today we pray for the grace to forgive and move on with life, just as we thank the Lord for the innumerable times He has forgiven us and has Himself moved on with sharing His Life with us.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
24 Ordinary Time
Homily from Father Alex McAllister SDS
Alexmcallister.co.uk
24 Ordinary Time
One of the distinctive characteristics human beings have is the ability to reason, to think in a clear and logical fashion. Many experiments have been undertaken in attempts to prove that some of the higher primates also have this same ability, even if to a lesser extent, but the results of these enquiries are very questionable and can largely be put down to the performance of repetitive acts.
A chimpanzee can, of course, use a primitive tool to get some tasty ants out of a hole but whether this can seriously be described as the use of reason is very much open to question. Human beings, however, certainly do have the ability to reason and are able to do so at quite a high level so I think that, whatever some experimental psychologists might want to believe, it remains one of our defining characteristics.
The only problem is that, as the parable we are presented with today ably demonstrates, our emotions often get in the way. We can think logically but don’t always act logically. And we also frequently fail to make use of the great gift of reason.
Even the dullest schoolboy can see that the servant in the parable who had his debts forgiven is being totally inconsistent. This man whose extremely large debt was absolved so magnanimously is unable to show forgiveness in a comparatively small matter and so we rightly regard him as hardhearted and cruel.
But a parable is not just a nice story it is also a mirror, a mirror we cannot avoid holding up to ourselves. And this parable set before us today is one which really makes us squirm because in it we clearly see our own inadequacies.
We who receive so much forgiveness and understanding from God are so frequently unable to forgive others or even see things from their point of view. We who crave forgiveness from God frequently fail to even see the need to give it to our fellow human beings.
I think that one of the best ways to improve in this area is to regard oneself as a conduit. Do not think that God’s forgiveness and love is meant for you alone but rather that you are a special conduit of his forgiveness and love for others. Let the forgiveness you experience flow through you to others.
This is not just some mental trick it is exactly what happens. God is constantly pouring out his grace on mankind. And he is simply using us as a means to spread that love everywhere. Our principal job is not to get in the way, not to block this flow of grace and mercy.
Yes, we know God very well and we speak to him directly in prayer and over the years we have sensitised ourselves to the many different ways he speaks to us, we especially appreciate how he acts in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But most people in our society are not as aware of God as we are, most people are unable to recognise what God is doing and saying.
They might crave God’s forgiveness, for example, but be quite unaware that this is what they really want or need in life. They might just be walking around with a heavy load of guilt and not even be able to give it a name, let alone knowing that it is God to whom they must turn to be relieved of this great burden.
This is where we come in. By recognising our role as conduits of God’s love we allow him to act through us to bring his love and goodness to those who for whatever reason are unable to recognise him. This is especially so in the case with forgiveness. It is not customary in our society to forgive easily. Reconciliation between individuals or groups in conflict is certainly understood as necessary but this usually comes a long time after a clash has occurred and then only after protracted negotiations.
In our world holding a grudge is considered quite normal and not speaking to someone who has offended you is commonplace. It is often thought to be unnecessary to forgive and neighbours who ought to be helping one another can be at loggerheads for years at a time.
Partly the reluctance to forgive is because of the fear of losing face but mostly, I think, because of the effort it takes. Forgiveness requires doing something; you have to go to the other or find a suitable opportunity to speak words of peace. Forgiveness is always active, it is always a reaching out, it is always involves taking the initiative.
In our Gospel reading Peter is told that he must not forgive his brother merely seven times but seventy-seven times. This mystical number actually means an unlimited number of times and rightly so for there is no limit to God’s love and mercy.
If we are real and effective conduits of his salvation then there can be no limits to the amount of times we forgive our brother or anyone else for that matter. There can be no limits to the extent of the love and kindness God conveys to the world through the agency of his servants; and by that I mean us!
None of this is easy. Very little comes naturally. And certainly, we all fall far short of the ideal. But embracing this idea that the role of a disciple of Christ is to be a conduit of his love can certainly help. It can help us to be a bit more forgiving and gentle with ourselves and most of all enable us to be real agents of forgiveness and reconciliation within our community.
I remember very clearly a fellow seminarian, who I had happened to be at school with, talking about how he decided to take up his vocation. He said that it all started with an argument in a pub! He fell out with someone and they had a bitter argument and he went home still seething with anger. Naturally enough it was difficult for him to sleep and after some hours tossing and turning he decided that it might help if he said a few prayers. So, in traditional style he knelt by his bed and started to say the Our Father but found that he simply couldn’t get past those first two words.
He couldn’t get past them because he realised that God was just as much the father of the fellow he’d just had such a bad argument with. He resolved there and then to make it up with him first thing the next day and he did so. The only problem was that this changed his whole way of thinking and indeed caused him to consider the orientation of his life much more carefully and what God might want from him, hence his decision to try his vocation.
This young man only lasted one year in the seminary having discovered that his true vocation in life lay elsewhere. But I often think about him and the life-changing event of that argument in a pub. And, of course, the importance of those two wonderful words ‘Our Father.’
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