Sunday 17th of September 2023 - Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ecclesiasticus 27:33-28:9/ Psalm 102(103)/ Romans 14:7-9/ Matthew 18:21-35

In a recent high-profile court case the convicted person refused to attend court to hear the sentence handed down and to hear the reading of impact statements from those most closely affected by the crimes. The clamour for explanation and the need for revenge is understandable and a very human trait. The problem is that the courtroom is not the place to seek explanation and revenge. In many cases an accused person will invoke the right of silence in order not to further incriminate themselves, they may not plead guilty to offences, or they may strike a deal by pleading to a lesser offence. This will do nothing to help victims gain an explanation or understanding of why the person offended against them. The criminal justice system is not there to exact revenge, its purpose is to deliver justice by convicting and punishing the guilty helping them to rehabilitate and stop offending. Victims seeking revenge will often feel cheated and disappointed.

The need for revenge when hurt can lead to the negative and destructive feelings of resentment and anger as described in the first reading, it is a very human reaction. We are called to be like God discarding our weak humanity. God became human in the person of Jesus and, innocent as he was, suffered and died for our sins. He felt no anger or resentment and even cried out from the cross, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do’. However hard it might be this is what we are called to do.

In the words of the perfect prayer given to us by Jesus we make our call for forgiveness conditional on us forgiving others, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us’. We say this every time we pray the Our Father, but do we forgive others as we expect God to forgive us? It can be challenging indeed to forgive some of the pain and hurt that others might inflict on us. Although ancient the words of the prophet in the first reading are just as relevant today as they were when they were first uttered. We must forgive the neighbour the hurt he does to us if we expect God to forgive us. If we nurse anger against another, can we demand compassion from the Lord? As mere humans we can too easily ‘cherish resentment’.

This concept must have been hard for the disciples as well. Peter was drawn to ask Jesus how often he must forgive someone who wrongs him, could it be as many as seven times? Jesus replied, ‘not seven but seventy-seven times.’ In effect the number is limitless which is how God deals with us. His forgiveness is limitless, but he wants us to forgive each other the wrongs we do against each other in the same way he forgives us. This is followed up by the parable of the unforgiving servant. Sometimes the gospels can be so familiar to us that we miss important points such as the colossal debt this servant finds himself in. It would have been impossible for the servant to pay back ten thousand talents and quite a debt to have been able to run up. The point is that when the man pleaded with his master, he took pity on him and cancelled the debt.

It does not matter how big our debt to God is he is always ready to forgive us and cancel our debts. There is nothing we can do to pay off our debt to God but to ask for his compassion and sincerely try not to offend him again. The other strong message from the readings today is that to receive the forgiveness offered by God we must offer forgiveness to others who have offended against us. In the parable, the servant who had been so generously treated went straight out and demanded the relatively small debt owed to him by a colleague even offering violence against him. Pleas for time to pay were not accepted and the debtor was thrown in jail until he could pay.

If we seek forgiveness and mercy from God are we not bound to offer the same to others? We make this a condition every time we pray the Our Father, and we need to constantly remind ourselves of the reality of what we are saying. It is not always easy to forgive but failing to do so can cause so much suffering, anger, and resentment. Looking at the cross we see the model of forgiveness exemplified by Jesus. Let us always be willing to forgive others as we hope God will forgive us.

God Bless Brendan