INTRODUCTION
In his essay on criticism, Alexander Pope, the London born Poet (1688) writes: “To err is human, to forgive is divine”. This expression has stood the test of time as one of the most used words especially in mediating reconciliation between individuals. Obviously, daily experience of life is a struggle between love and hatred. And the crisis in human society gives the impression that humans breed more evil than good. When we are asked to mention some horrible moments that left serious scars on the heart of the survivors, we cannot certainly skip the horror of World War II especially the almighty Nazi concentration camp, “the narrow gate of rare return” that led to the death of millions of persons especially the Jewish race. We cannot also fail to mention the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb that left a lingered generational effect, the evil of genocide and apartheid on african soil, and other litany of instances. These are structurally organized evils against humanity. Apart from these structural evils, we also experience man’s inhumanity against man on daily bases. It is either that we have been victims, or we have victimized others. However, it is in the heart of the memories of the past hurts and the present friction with one another that the readings of this Twenty-fourth Sunday in ordinary time year A presents us with the challenging message of forgiveness. Our experience of life shows that forgiveness is not an easy gift to give. But we are reminded that it must be given out. It is easy to say “I will never forgive him/her” until someone else tells us the same. Just as in the parable of the lost sheep, we will always consider the act of abandoning a whole Ninety-nine sheep in search of the one that was lost as foolishness unless we see ourselves as that lost sheep.
How is it possible to forgive someone that hurt me to the marrow? The readings today provide the answer:
1. In forgiving I am healed.
2. Not to forgive is to tell God, “You are foolish for having forgiven me”.
3. Not to forgive is a risk to losing the kingdom of heaven.
FIRST READING: Sirach 27:30–28:7
The Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus is one of the wisdom books of the Bible (200 to 175 BCE) written by a Jewish sage known as Jesus Ben Sira, or Sirach. It contains passages of ethical teachings which cut across all conditions of life: relationship between parents and their children, husbands and wives, to young, to masters, to friends, to the rich, and to the poor. Some portions contain courtesy and politeness rules; while others serve as advice and instruction to men and their duties towards others, especially the poor. In other words, their how to coexist in human society, and most importantly their dutiful responsibility towards God.
The message of Ben Sira came at a time in the history of the Israelites when it seemed that monarchical era had come to a close and when the voices of the prophets seemed to be silent. At this time, many Jews were living in predominantly pagan cities. Ben Sirach took the pain of reminding the people about their root, the sacrosanctity of the religion of their fathers and the moral and spiritual choices they ought to make. Today, he underlines the awful nature of wrath and anger against one another, and the need to forgive, since unforgiveness attracts God’s own anger which is more deadly: “The vengeful will suffer Yahweh’s vengeance; for He remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.” Sirach reminds his listeners that if they don’t lay aside anger, forgive, and show mercy to an offender, then it is hopeless for them to expect forgiveness and mercy from Yahweh their God. This teaching of Ben Sirach equally highlight the concept of Divine retribution. It simply tells how the wicked will face the wrath of God. The last part of the message of the author touches on a fundamental aspect of our humanity which is death: “Remember your last days, and 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.” He announces it as a reminder to the finite nature of man. Death humbles man especially when he think he is mighty. The author tries to link the message on forgiveness to death, so as to remind us on the need to free ourselves from sin before we meet death and decay. Although he did not mention anything about life after, but for us dying with unrepentant sins is a great danger to eternal life.
SECOND READING: Romans 14:7-9
This letter of St. Paul to the Romans shows an inner tension between the Gentile Christians who were liberal in their attitude toward the Law and the Jewish Christians who were scrupulous about legal observances. This type of tension is very much typical among the Christians of the early Church who often disagreed with each other and created problems among one another. Romans 14:1-15:13 are whole chapters dedicated by Paul to dealing with frictions among Christians. It ranges from issues regarding rules about food and days (14:1-12), the asking the Christians not to be a stumbling block for one another (14:13-23) and to focus on pleasing others instead of selfishness (15:1-6).
The apostle calls for mutual understanding and tolerance avoiding all forms of differences that come from their diverse origins and the feeling of superiority. The fundamental principle here is that no Christian exists by himself or herself, but only in relation to the Lord, the risen Christ, and therefore in relation to other members of the Church who are equally related to the Christ. In other words, whether Christian as a Jew or Christian as a gentile, no one has identity except the one given to him through his association with the body of Christ. And if truly part of the body of Christ, then everyone must belong to him whether alive or dead through the type of life he or she lives. Here, Paul applies the same sentiment in his letter to the Philippians: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). The apostle stresses that life in itself has no meaning if it is not meant to serve the Lord. It is only when a life is spent in serving the Lord that death becomes a bringing home to the Lord. Paul concludes by reminding the community of Rome (as well as us today) to know that the passage of Christ from death to glory has made him Lord and judge over all. He merited his glory not just by accepting the cross but also by forgiving the sins of his oppressors including all of us since He paid the debt of our sins. Therefore no one has the right to judge the other since Christ himself did not judge us (not to judge is not the same as condoning evil and not speaking out). Thus, by his singular act of his saving death, He has set for us an example that we must follow that is, overcoming our differences and forgiving those who wound us.
GOSPEL: Matthew 18:21-35
“Seventy times seven times!”.This is the response of Jesus to Peter, an invitation to throw away the calculator in ones relationship with others.
The parable of the ‘unforgiving servant’ as told by Jesus is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, where it is intended to be a moral exhortation for the Church on the need for forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus how often he ought to forgive his brother, and then answered his own question by suggesting that he should forgive seven times. It was the Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother three times. Also, seven was a holy number to Jewish people, symbolizing perfection, fullness, abundance, and completion (Lockyer, 968). Peter expected to be warmly commended. But Jesus’ answer was that the Christian must forgive “seventy times seven times.” In other words, there is no reckonable limit to forgiveness. Thus, Jesus proposes a celestial arithmetic that must be solved in the heart (Buttrick, 475) and not human arithmetic of the mind.
In Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s prayer, He equates sins with debt (Matt. 6:12). However, we represent the greater debtor in the parable. We commit sins every day and, hence, need God’s forgiveness every day. In the parable, the first servant (a top official of the king), owed his master 10,000 talents, an incredible debt. The first servant would have taken 15 years to pay off the debt while the other only, three months of work. What Jesus means is that the servant owing his master was hopelessly indebted. The accumulated sum of all our sins makes us greater debtors before God than the first debtor in the story. But God is ready to forgive us unconditionally. The sum total of all the offenses which our brothers and sisters commit against us is equivalent to the small debt of the second debtor in the parable. Our own merciless behavior towards our fellow human beings is both shocking and sad; it resembles that of the forgiven first servant who turned toward his fellow servant in the same household and refused to forgive a much smaller debt. The moral of Jesus’ story is that members of the community must treat one another as God has treated each of us. Here is a Divine call to throw away the calculator when it comes to forgiveness. We have been forgiven a debt which is beyond all paying – the debt of the sin of all mankind which brought about the death of God’s own Son – and, if that is so, we must forgive others as God has forgiven us.
Peter’s question resonates within us: “How often should I forgive?” Jesus answers “seventy times seven times,” which simply means, at all times and in all places, we are to embody God’s forgiving grace. Forgiveness involves more than absolution of guilt. It involves reconciliation – the mending of our past, now-fractured, relationships and the healing of our mutual brokenness. It involves intentional work to heal and be reconciled with another.
Forgiveness does not mean condoning evil. We remark evidently that the king in the parable was very ready to forgive the senior official. But how could reconciliation take place when the official later behaved in such an abominable way to a brother? We can be ready to forgive the sinner indefinitely, but we must fight against sin without counting the cost. God and the Church can forgive the repentant sinner, but they cannot condone unrepented behavior that is a source of real evil and suffering. God cannot be reconciled with the sinner who chooses to stay in sin, nor can the Christian community fully incorporate a member who refuses reconciliation and the healing of the behaviors that offend against truth and love. (Fr Anthony Kadavil).
LIFE MESSAGE:
1. WE NEED TO FORGIVE AND BE RECONCILED: Hatred eats away our ability to forgive. Hatred is highly corrosive. It consumes the inner self and allows it to die gradually.
In the light of eternity and the shortness of our span of life, harboring old grudges is pointless. NEIGHBOURS WHO REMAINED HOSTILE AND UNFORGIVING TILL THEIR DEATH ARE BURIED A SHORT DISTANCE FROM ONE ANOTHER IN THE SAME CEMETERY. What then is the need of dying with unforgiven sins? We must know that forgiveness does not belittle us but makes us greater than the offender. And as Mahatma Gandhi will rightly put it: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”. Our ability and willingness to forgive are the measure of the depth of our Christianity. Forgiveness does not cost us our lives but certainly unforgiveness do. Yes, sometimes, we wait for an apology that never comes. How long do we need to wait? What if it never comes? It is for our own good to forgive because it sets us free. Forgiveness heals accumulated and “needless pains”; needless because it consumes us instead of the offender. Resentment and anger had led many people to regret why they did not forgive. As free beings we will always have the choice any time, any day to forgive or not. If we do not forgive, then it means we have decided to settle for suffering not just here but also after. But when we forgive, we are healed here and it’s a gateway to the joy of the hereafter.
It is certainly a difficult task especially if the pain is deep and yet the offender does not see the need to ask for forgiveness. Let pride not keep us perpetually prisoners of our own unforgiveness. With God we can.
2. “SHOULD YOU NOT HAVE HAD PITY ON YOUR FELLOW SERVANTS, AS I HAD PITY ON YOU?” Obviously, incidents of simple human frailties challenge each of us in the ‘everydayness’ of our lives. We all need healing, the healing that can only come from a good relationship with others. Many of us are sick because we have failed to forgive our partners who betrayed us; our friend who has deserted us; our employer who dismissed us for no just cause; the old time teacher who might have judged us wrongly; and even the pastors of our local communities who scandalized us. We need to find courage to pause, to be silent, and to pray for grace when there is war going on in our minds; a war caused by the betrayal of those we most trusted. It is a prayerful pause that can save us from counter attack and hatred and bring us healing and renewal.
3. WHEN FORGIVESS BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE
When we think that it is impossible to forgive, let us think about God. How many times do we offend him daily? Who can keep account of it? Then has He stopped supplying us with the breath of life (free of charge) or stopped us from enjoying rain and sunshine? The Psalmist says, “If You o Lord should mark our guilt, who will survive?” We all know that no one will survive. But even if we banalize God’s forgiveness and do not see the need to forgive others, please let’s look at Jesus on the wood of the cross. He accepted to be disfigured in order to reshape our lives. He accepted vinegar so that He will become source of living water for us. He accepted nakedness so that the nudity caused by our sins (I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid, Gen. 3:10) might be covered. He was abandoned on the hill so that we may return home in peace. He said, “Father forgive them”, and in case that is not enough, He added “Tetelestai” (I have paid it for you in full). May Jesus lead us on the difficult path of forgiveness so that we may gain the healing that comes with it.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, your teaching is really difficult for us. You know how much we have been hurt by those whom we loved. But since seventy times seven is your choice for us, help us to understand what it really means and give us the spirit to appreciate it for what it is. Do not fail to turn our gaze towards you when it seems impossible, for without you we can do nothing good. And renewed by your constant help, may come one day to the eternal home of happiness with You, who live and reign forever and ever.
PAX VOBIS!
