Ecclesiasticus 27,30 – 28,7
Romans 14,7-9
Matthew 18,21-35
Often the readings proposed for our meditation on Sundays seem to be referring to the lives of those who lived during the Old or New Testaments. That cannot be said of the readings of this Sunday which apply to all of us right now. The reading speak about the omnipresent sin of many of us - refusing to forgive others. Yet, the obligation to forgive is mentioned 108 times in the Scriptures. We must be grateful to Peter for pushing the question today. His question to Jesus caused Him to discuss material He was
probably not planning to. In fact, all the three Readings for today concern forgiving our offenders and getting reconciled with them. All three remind us of the path to forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation and challenge us to walk this, the only Way to Life.
In the first reading, we are confronted with the ingratitude of the Israelites. They betrayed God's covenant by worshipping a golden calf, and God promises punishment. We cannot but be shocked and disgusted at how this people could so easily forget the good God who had set them free from the slavery of Egypt and worked so many extraordinary miracles to do so, and promised them a home land, a country that would be their own, on the one condition that they would be loyal and obedient to him. They turned away from him and accepted the idols of their previous slave masters as their God.
The intercession of Moses on their behalf saved them on this occasion and the impending destruction was averted. God was moved to mercy by the prayer of one faithful member and stayed his hand and forgave them. It is possible that you and I have not set up graven images or golden calves to take the place of God, but the passage brings up the possibility that we too have our own vices which we have turned into idols and served as our God. We too may have spent our lives running away from God in the distraction of our pride, our ideology, our money or desire to worldly wealth, our ambitions for honour or power, our pleasures and past times: have these not often become our own idols and gods serving as a screen between us and our God?
Is it not possible that we have, at one time or the other succumbed to one or the other of these vices and gravely insulted Christ our Saviour by allowing them to push God out of our thoughts and out of our lives and calculations? Jesus has no doubt won an inheritance for us, but every time we commit a mortal sin we deserve to be cut off forever from that inheritance. What a joy to know that just as Moses mediated for the Israelites we have an even stronger mediator in the person of Jesus interceding with the Father always on our behalf. Because of Jesus there is no prodigal son, no matter how long he has been absent from home that the Father will not receive back.
In the second reading the story of Paul's conversion emphasizes the same point on God's boundless mercy and inexhaustible patience. To appreciate the reading we have to recall the story of Paul who was a fanatical defender of Judaism, a member of the strict sect of the Pharisees, whose basic doctrine was the persecution of the followers of Christ. In fact, it was even on his mission to kill Christians when he was converted upon confessing his ignorance. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that there is no sinner so wicked but can be forgiven, and will be forgiven, if only he listens to the call of Christ. One thing we must all remember is that Like Paul, before his conversion, all of us can and do run away from God, through things which, in themselves, are beautiful and good and would normally lead us to God and make us live joyfully in his presence.
Paul ran away through the meticulous observance of the Law on which he stakes his assurance and salvation. You and I can run away from God even through the service of others, our apostolate, action in favour of the poor and the oppressed, fasting, solitary prayer and what have you. While these things are good and beautiful, we constantly use them to "protect" ourselves from God whenever we place in them our assurance and our salvation. We often forget that apart from God nothing, absolutely nothing can save us.
There is also a consoling lesson in the passage for all of us whose spiritual life has only been the history of God's patient search for us. We may not have offended Christ as grievously as Paul did perhaps, but we have offended Him and with far less excuse than Paul had. We must try to imitate the same Paul in his life-long sense of sorrow for the offenses he committed against Christ and his followers before his conversion. Christ's mercy is there in abundance for us also. He came to this earth, precisely, to bring sinners to heaven.
In the Gospel, Jesus uses some stories to reply to the attitude of the Pharisees and the Scribes who took offence at the fact that He associates with the people on the margins of society. He gave three stories concerning something or someone who was lost: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. While the stories tell about the solicitous providence of God for sinners or those who spend their lives fleeing from God, the emphasis on each of these stories is the celebration at the recovery of that which was lost. The stories put before us the fact that, far from abandoning those who have distanced themselves from Him, God welcomes such stray sons and daughters totally, forgives them fully, and restores them completely to the status they had before they ran away. The stories are vivid examples to us not only of God's forgiveness to us but also models of our forgiveness to each other.
The story of the Prodigal Son, for example, sets before us the possibility either to imitate the compassionate father whose love healed the past of the son and allowed the son's present repentance and conversion to correct the future or imitate the merciless elder brother who refused to welcome his younger brother when it comes to pardoning another person. In our relationships even with each other these possibilities, either, to hurry to meet an erring brother or sister with open arms, or turn our back and refuse to speak to them is open to us.
To forgive someone who hurt us or caused seemingly irreparable damage in our lives seems to be a difficult task. Like for example, how can we forgive somebody who has raped our loved one? We wonder if forgiveness and reconciliation mean the indefinite tolerance of evil and unjust behavior? To forgive does not mean that we let criminals go free or that we leave society at their mercy. Christian forgiveness lets justice takes its course. Moreover, forgiveness does not mean for example keeping silent when a spouse is unfaithful or a child misbehaves.
As members of the Christian community we find here a Divine call to throw away our calculators when it comes to forgiveness. We must choose the more honorable path and forgive one another "from the heart." Jesus' instruction echoes Lv 19:17: "You shall not hate your brother in your heart . . . you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 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. Otherwise, we cannot hope to expect any mercy. Having experienced forgiveness at the hands of God and God's people, we are then called to make it possible for others to experience it.
Our ability to forgive is the measure of the depth of our Christianity. The forgiveness that we offer others is the indispensable condition which makes it possible for us to receive God's forgiveness and to pray meaningfully: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Let us remember St. Francis of Assisi's prayer: "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned." Our failure to offer pardon means that we have forgotten God's goodness or have not fully appreciated the unconditional forgiveness we have received from Him. What God expects from us is limitless forgiving and an ability to overlook faults and to keep on loving even in the face of insults.
Two brothers, who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labour and goods as needed without a conflict. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's tool box. "I'm looking for a few days' work" he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you.." "Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor; in fact, it's my younger brother.
Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river level and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence - an 8 - foot fence so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you." The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge - a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all - and the neighbor, his younger brother was coming toward them, his hand outstretched. "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done." The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother. "I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, but I have many more bridges to build.
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