Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 416
Lectionary: 416
The word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house;
they have eyes to see but do not see,
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on,
prepare your baggage as though for exile,
and again while they are looking on,
migrate from where you live to another place;
perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime
while they are looking on;
in the evening, again while they are looking on,
you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness;
cover your face that you may not see the land,
for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told.
During the day I brought out my baggage
as though it were that of an exile,
and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand
and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness,
shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house,
ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
This oracle concerns Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you:
as I have done, so shall it be done to them;
as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden
and set out in darkness,
going through a hole he has dug out in the wall,
and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house;
they have eyes to see but do not see,
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on,
prepare your baggage as though for exile,
and again while they are looking on,
migrate from where you live to another place;
perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime
while they are looking on;
in the evening, again while they are looking on,
you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness;
cover your face that you may not see the land,
for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told.
During the day I brought out my baggage
as though it were that of an exile,
and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand
and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness,
shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house,
ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
This oracle concerns Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you:
as I have done, so shall it be done to them;
as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden
and set out in darkness,
going through a hole he has dug out in the wall,
and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62
R. (see 7b) Do not
forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,
and kept not his decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;
they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places
and with their idols roused his jealousy.
God heard and was enraged
and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity,
his glory in the hands of the foe.
He abandoned his people to the sword
and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,
and kept not his decrees.
They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;
they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places
and with their idols roused his jealousy.
God heard and was enraged
and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity,
his glory in the hands of the foe.
He abandoned his people to the sword
and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
AlleluiaPS 119:135
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 18:21–19:1
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
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 his brother from his heart."
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
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 his brother from his heart."
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Meditation: "Lord, how often shall I
forgive my brother?"
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 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.
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.
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).
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. Mercy seasons justice as salt 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.
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercy seasons justice as salt 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."
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)
THURSDAY,
AUGUST 16, MATTHEW 18:21--19:1
Weekday
(Ezekiel 12:1-12; Psalm 78)
Weekday
(Ezekiel 12:1-12; Psalm 78)
KEY VERSE: "Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?" (v. 33).
TO KNOW: Jesus gave the Church the power to exercise divine authority in his name. But this authority had to be tempered by compassion. As a leader of the Christian community, Peter asked Jesus how often he must forgive a fellow disciple. In the Old Testament, Lamech, a descendant of Cain, exacted a "seventy-sevenfold" vengeance, or unlimited retaliation for injury (Gn 4:23-24). The rabbis of Jesus' time taught that forgiveness should be offered another person at least three times as it was better to err on the side of mercy than judgment. Peter increased the number to seven. However, Jesus told him that Christian forgiveness must be "seventy-seven times" (Matt 18:22). Jesus is not saying that we should forgive 490 times. In the Bible, the number "7" symbolizes completeness, while the number "70" signifies 'perfect.' Therefore, 70 x 7, signifies perfection and completeness. Jesus illustrated this with a parable in which a master forgave his servant a staggering debt. Yet the same servant refused to forgive a much smaller amount owed by a fellow servant. When the master heard this, he had his hardhearted servant punished until he agreed to pay the debt. At the final judgment, God's compassion will be withheld from those who have not forgiven the offenses of others.
TO LOVE: Who have I offended? Am I willing to ask their forgiveness?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to forgive those who have offended me.
Optional Memorial of Saint
Stephen of Hungary
Stephen, the first Christian King of Hungary, was born in 975 AD and died in 1038. He was a son of the Hungarian chief Géza and was baptized, together with his father, by Archbishop Saint Adalbert of Prague in 985. On this occasion, he changed his pagan name Vajk to Stephen. In 995, Stephen married Gisela, a sister of Duke Henry of Bavaria, the future Emperor Saint Henry II, and in 997 ascended to the throne of Hungary. In order to make Hungary a Christian nation and to establish himself more firmly as ruler, Stephen sent Abbot Astricus to Rome to petition Pope Sylvester II for the royal dignity and the power to establish episcopal sees. The pope acceded to his wishes and, in addition, crowned him as king on August 17, 1001. In 1031, his only son, Emeric, lost his life on a boar hunt. Thus, Stephen's cherished hope of transferring the reins of government into the hands of a pious Christian prince was shattered. At Stephen’s death, he was buried beside his son and both were canonized together in 1083. The Holy Crown of Saint Stephen and other Coronation Jewels are considered national relics, currently on display in the Parliament of Hungary, in Budapest.
Thursday 16
August 2018
Ezekiel 12:1-12. Psalm 77(78):56-59, 61-62. Matthew 18:21-19:1.
Do not forget the works of the Lord!—Psalm 77(78):56-59, 61-62.
‘Forgive not seven times but seventy-seven.’
To dwell on real or imaginary wrongs that have been done to us
by others is a sure way of making us very unhappy. We need to have open and
generous hearts ready to ask for forgiveness from God and others. We are
invited to forgive freely, and to look on others with the same love with which
God looks at us.
The challenge is not just to forgive, but to welcome the person
back into the same level of trust and intimacy as before.
This means we leave ourselves open to be hurt again.
The call is to be ministers of reconciliation in our world.
Lord, be for me a reconciling presence in all
my relationships
Saint Stephen of Hungary
Saint of the Day for August 16
(975 – August 15, 1038)
 |
| Imre Varga’s statue of Saint Stephen I, Apostolic king of Hungary, 1993, along the cathedral, Aachen, Germany |
Saint Stephen of Hungary’s Story
The Church is universal, but its expression is always
affected—for good or ill—by local culture. There are no “generic” Christians;
there are Mexican Christians, Polish Christians, Filipino Christians. This fact
is evident in the life of Stephen, national hero and spiritual patron of
Hungary.
Born a pagan, he was baptized around the age of 10, together
with his father, chief of the Magyars, a group who migrated to the Danube area
in the ninth century. At 20, he married Gisela, sister to the future emperor,
Saint Henry. When he succeeded his father, Stephen adopted a policy of
Christianization of the country for both political and religious reasons. He
suppressed a series of revolts by pagan nobles and welded the Magyars into a
strong national group. He asked the pope to provide for the Church’s
organization in Hungary—and also requested that the pope confer the title of
king upon him. He was crowned on Christmas day in 1001.
Stephen established a system of tithes to support churches and
pastors and to relieve the poor. Out of every 10 towns one had to build a
church and support a priest. He abolished pagan customs with a certain amount of
violence, and commanded all to marry, except clergy and religious. He was
easily accessible to all, especially the poor.
In 1031, his son Emeric died, and the rest of Stephen’s days
were embittered by controversy over his successor. His nephews attempted to
kill him. He died in 1038 and was canonized, along with his son, in 1083.
Reflection
God’s gift of holiness is a Christlike love of God and humanity.
Love must sometimes bear a stern countenance for the sake of ultimate good.
Christ attacked hypocrites among the Pharisees, but died forgiving them. Paul
excommunicated the incestuous man at Corinth “that his spirit may be saved.”
Some Christians fought the Crusades with noble zeal, in spite of the unworthy
motives of others.
Today, after senseless wars, and with a deeper understanding of
the complex nature of human motives, we shrink from any use of
violence—physical or “silent.” This wholesome development continues as people
debate whether it is possible for a Christian to be an absolute pacifist or
whether evil must sometimes be repelled by force.
Saint Stephen of Hungary is the Patron Saint of:
Bricklayers
Hungary
Hungary
LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW
18,21-19,1
Lectio Divina:
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us your children,
confident to call you Father.
Increase your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty and ever-living God,
your Spirit made us your children,
confident to call you Father.
Increase your Spirit within us
and bring us to our promised inheritance.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 18,21-19,1
Then Peter went up to Jesus and said,
'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven
times?'
Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.
Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.
His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judea on the far side of the Jordan.
Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
'And so the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.
Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow-servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him, saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him, saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt.
His fellow-servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for the man and said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'
Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and he left Galilee and came into the territory of Judea on the far side of the Jordan.
3) Reflection
• In yesterday’s Gospel we have heard
the words of Jesus concerning fraternal correction (Mt 18, 15-20). In the
Gospel today (Mt 19, 21-39) the central theme is pardon and reconciliation.
• Matthew 18, 21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks: “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of the proposal of Peter, seven is synonymous of always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates all and whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if he would say “Always, N0! Peter. But seventy times seven always!”. And this because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zollah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gn 4, 23-24). The task of the communities is to invert the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify his response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
• Matthew 18, 23-27: The attitude of the master. This parable is an allegory, that is, Jesus speaks about a master, but thinks of God. This explains the enormous contrasts of the parable. As we will see, in spite that it is a question of daily ordinary things, there is something in this story which does not take place in daily life. In the story which Jesus tells, the master follows the norms of the law or rights of that time. It was his right to take a labourer with all his family and to keep him in prison until he would have paid his debt carrying out his work as a slave. But before the request of the debtor servant, the master forgives the debt. What strikes us is the amount: ten thousand talents! One talent was equal to 35 kg, and so according to the estimate made, ten thousand talents were equal to 350 tons of gold. Even if the debtor and his family would have worked their whole life, they would never have been capable to earn 350 tons of gold. The extreme estimate is made on purpose. Our debt before God is countless and unpayable!
• Matthew 18, 28-31: The attitude of the labourer. As soon as he went out, that servant found a fellow servant as himself who owned him one hundred denarii and, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him saying: Pay what you owe! This servant owed him one hundred denarii; that is the salary of one hundred days of work. Some have estimated that it was a question of 30 grams of gold. There was no comparison between the two! But this makes us understand the attitude of the labourer: God forgives him 350 tons of gold and he is not capable to forgive 30 grams of gold. Instead of forgiving, he does to the companion what the master could have done with him, but did not do it. He puts in prison his companion according to the norms of the law until he would have paid his debt. This is an inhuman attitude, which also strikes the other companions. Seeing what had happened, the other servants were sad and went to refer to their master everything which had happened. We also would have done the same; we would also have had the same attitude of disapproval.
• Matthew 18, 32-35: The attitude of God “Then the master called that man and said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you? And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt“. Before God’s love who pardons gratuitously our debt of 350 tons of gold, it is more than fair, than just that we should forgive our brother who has a small debt of 30 grams of gold. God’s forgiveness is without any limit. The only limit for the gratuity of God’s mercy comes from ourselves, from our incapacity to forgive our brothers! (Mt 18, 34). This is what we say and ask for in the Our Father: “Forgive us our offences as we forgive those who offend us” (Mt 6, 12-15).
The community: an alternative space of solidarity and fraternity. The society of the Roman Empire was hard and heartless, without any space for the little ones. They sought some refuge for the heart and did not find it. The Synagogues were very demanding and did not offer a place for them. In the Christian communitie4s, the rigour of some concerning the observance of the Law in the daily life followed the same criteria as society and as the Synagogue. Thus, in the communities, the same divisions which existed in society and in the Synagogue, between rich and poor, dominion and submission, man and woman, race and religion, began to appear. The community instead of being a place of acceptance became a place of condemnation. By uniting the words of Jesus, Matthew wants to enlighten the journey of the followers of Jesus, in order that the communities may be an alternative place of solidarity and of fraternity. They should be Good News for the poor.
• Matthew 18, 21-22: Forgive seventy times seven! Before the words of Jesus on fraternal correction and reconciliation, Peter asks: “How often must I forgive? Seven times?” Seven is a number which indicates perfection and, in the case of the proposal of Peter, seven is synonymous of always. But Jesus goes beyond. He eliminates all and whatever possible limitation there may be to pardon: “Not seven I tell you, but seventy-seven times”. It is as if he would say “Always, N0! Peter. But seventy times seven always!”. And this because there is no proportion between God’s love for us and our love for our brother. Here we recall the episode of the Old Testament of Lamech: “Lamech says to his wives, Adah and Zollah, hear my voice; listen to what I say: I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold vengeance for Cain, but seventy-sevenfold for Lamech” (Gn 4, 23-24). The task of the communities is to invert the process of the spiral of violence. In order to clarify his response to Peter, Jesus tells them the parable of pardon without limits.
• Matthew 18, 23-27: The attitude of the master. This parable is an allegory, that is, Jesus speaks about a master, but thinks of God. This explains the enormous contrasts of the parable. As we will see, in spite that it is a question of daily ordinary things, there is something in this story which does not take place in daily life. In the story which Jesus tells, the master follows the norms of the law or rights of that time. It was his right to take a labourer with all his family and to keep him in prison until he would have paid his debt carrying out his work as a slave. But before the request of the debtor servant, the master forgives the debt. What strikes us is the amount: ten thousand talents! One talent was equal to 35 kg, and so according to the estimate made, ten thousand talents were equal to 350 tons of gold. Even if the debtor and his family would have worked their whole life, they would never have been capable to earn 350 tons of gold. The extreme estimate is made on purpose. Our debt before God is countless and unpayable!
• Matthew 18, 28-31: The attitude of the labourer. As soon as he went out, that servant found a fellow servant as himself who owned him one hundred denarii and, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him saying: Pay what you owe! This servant owed him one hundred denarii; that is the salary of one hundred days of work. Some have estimated that it was a question of 30 grams of gold. There was no comparison between the two! But this makes us understand the attitude of the labourer: God forgives him 350 tons of gold and he is not capable to forgive 30 grams of gold. Instead of forgiving, he does to the companion what the master could have done with him, but did not do it. He puts in prison his companion according to the norms of the law until he would have paid his debt. This is an inhuman attitude, which also strikes the other companions. Seeing what had happened, the other servants were sad and went to refer to their master everything which had happened. We also would have done the same; we would also have had the same attitude of disapproval.
• Matthew 18, 32-35: The attitude of God “Then the master called that man and said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity on you? And, angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt“. Before God’s love who pardons gratuitously our debt of 350 tons of gold, it is more than fair, than just that we should forgive our brother who has a small debt of 30 grams of gold. God’s forgiveness is without any limit. The only limit for the gratuity of God’s mercy comes from ourselves, from our incapacity to forgive our brothers! (Mt 18, 34). This is what we say and ask for in the Our Father: “Forgive us our offences as we forgive those who offend us” (Mt 6, 12-15).
The community: an alternative space of solidarity and fraternity. The society of the Roman Empire was hard and heartless, without any space for the little ones. They sought some refuge for the heart and did not find it. The Synagogues were very demanding and did not offer a place for them. In the Christian communitie4s, the rigour of some concerning the observance of the Law in the daily life followed the same criteria as society and as the Synagogue. Thus, in the communities, the same divisions which existed in society and in the Synagogue, between rich and poor, dominion and submission, man and woman, race and religion, began to appear. The community instead of being a place of acceptance became a place of condemnation. By uniting the words of Jesus, Matthew wants to enlighten the journey of the followers of Jesus, in order that the communities may be an alternative place of solidarity and of fraternity. They should be Good News for the poor.
4) Personal questions
• To forgive. There are people who say:
“I forgive but I do not forget!” And I? Am I able to imitate God?
• Jesus gives us the example. At the time of death he asks pardon for his murderers (Lk 13, 34). Am I capable to imitate Jesus?
• Jesus gives us the example. At the time of death he asks pardon for his murderers (Lk 13, 34). Am I capable to imitate Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
From the rising of the sun to its
setting,
praised be the name of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh,
supreme over the heavens his glory. (Ps 113,3-4)
praised be the name of Yahweh!
Supreme over all nations is Yahweh,
supreme over the heavens his glory. (Ps 113,3-4)
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