Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Seventy-Seven Times
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. The holiness of God can stand no evil, as Ezekiel proclaims to an unfaithful people; only those marked with the sign of God, those personally responding to his offer of salvation, will be spared. And yet, this holy God is also a forgiving God, as we have all experienced. What would we do without forgiveness?
Gospel. What if my brother or sister goes astray? One of the most difficult and delicate tasks is to bring a brother or sister back when he or she errs. It is a duty, but one that requires courage and at the same time much tact, the right moment and the right disposition on both sides. It is my concern, because he or she is my brother or sister, vulnerable as I am, and wounded.
Opening Prayer
God of mercy and compassion,
your Son Jesus Christ has brought us together
as a community of sinners
that knows that you have pardoned us.
When our weaknesses threaten our unity,
remind us of our responsibility for one another.
Let your unifying Spirit give us the strength
to care for one another
and to do all we can to remain
a living, forgiving and welcoming community
where we keep meeting in the name of Jesus,
our Lord, now and for ever.
First Reading
FIRST ACTIVITY OF THE PROPHET II
Into Exile
This word from the Lord came to me,
“Son of man, you live among a rebellious house: they have eyes to see but do not see; they have ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.
Because of this, son of man, prepare your exile’s baggage in their sight, like an exile would; and go into exile, to another place, in their presence. I wish they might understand, because they are a rebellious house.
You will gather your belongings, an exile’s baggage, during the day, to be seen by them; and you will leave in the evening, like for a deportee’s departure.
While they watch, dig a hole in the wall and leave through it.
As they watch, shoulder your baggage and depart in the dark. Cover your face and do not look at the land, for I have made you a sign for Israel.
I followed my orders, gathering my belongings during the day, like an exile’s baggage, and in the evening, I made a hole in the wall with my hand. I left in the dark, in front of them, carrying my baggage.
In the morning, the word of the Lord came to me:
“Son of man, did not the Israelites, these rebels, ask you, ‘What are you doing there?’
Answer them on behalf of the Lord: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites remaining in the city.
Say, ‘I am a sign for you,’ for what I have done will happen to them: they will be deported and exiled.
The prince among them shall carry his baggage in the dark and depart. They will dig a hole in the wall to let him escape through it. He will cover his face because he must not see the land with his eyes.
Responsorial Psalm
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!
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Then Peter asked him:
“Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister’s offenses? Seven times?”
Jesus answered:
“No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Parable About Forgiveness
This story sheds light on the kingdom of Heaven: A king decided to settle accounts with his servants.
One of the first was someone who owed him ten thousand pieces of gold.
Since the man couldn’t repay the debt, the king ordered that he be sold into slavery along with his wife, children, and all his possessions as payment.
The servant knelt before the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’
The king took pity on him and not only freed him but also waived his debt.
When this servant left the king’s presence, he encountered one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He seized him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’
But the other disagreed and put him in prison until he paid off all his debt.
Now the king’s servants saw what had happened. They were very upset, so they went and reported everything to their lord.
Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so.
Weren’t you supposed to have pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?
The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished until he paid the entire debt.
Jesus added:
“So will my heavenly Father do with you unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”
On Divorce
When Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and reached the border of Judea across the Jordan River.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the Church, that it may keep itself dedicated to bring reconciliation to its members and to the world, we pray:
– For all Christian Churches, long divided by grudges and pride, that we may be brought together in the unity of one gospel and one love of Christ, we pray:
– For those married couples that live side by side without much love and without communicating, that they may come to forgive, to understand and to appreciate each other again, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we gather around this table
to remember with bread and wine
that your Son shed his blood to reconcile us to you.
Let this be a celebration
of pardon and peace with one another.
Help us to love one another with a sincere love
and to forgive one another,
for you have forgiven us much
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you want us to live not in the past but for the future.
In the strength of this sacrament
of unity and forgiveness,
give us hearts generous enough
to let bygones be bygones
and to build up together a community of peace
in which we accept one another
with our gifts and faults,
as you accept us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
God has spoken very clearly to us today that we have to become like him, to forget and forgive, to heal and care, and we will be healed ourselves. May God be with you and bless you, that Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Mathew 18: 21 – 19:1
To be Christians means to forgive
The lyrics of a popular song entitled “Leaves” sung by Ben&Ben says, “You never really love someone until you learn to forgive.” Truly, there is no love without forgiveness. In the Gospel, Jesus wants us to understand the real meaning of forgiveness. Rabbinical teachings taught that people should forgive their enemies three times- but Peter wanted to outsmart them. The Lord clearly demonstrated that forgiveness knows no limits or boundaries, no "ifs" or "whys" and it does not keep records. Being a forgiving person will also allow us to share our experience of the Lord's forgiveness with others.
The reason God expects us to forgive as a result of our being forgiven is similar to how you can expect to be wet after diving into a lake: when you immerse yourself in water, you get wet. So also with forgiving grace: grace is magnetic and beautiful. When God immerses you in grace and saves your life eternally by it, you will be overflowing with grace yourself. Your life will be full of grace and truth, which you will spread to others. God forgives us, and we forgive others. Forgiveness must become our lifestyle and habit.
We read about the king in this parable, who is God himself. He is the one who has been offended by a sinful humanity and who initiates and offers forgiveness to his unjust servants, that is, us. When we refuse to forgive others as in the case of this unforgiving servant, we are setting ourselves outside Christ’s grace and mercy of having forgiven us, and what comes around will eventually come back to us. Jesus says it this way in the Lord’s prayer, “and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Forgiveness is the way of the Cross. As disciples of Jesus, to forgive others as we have been forgiven is to release the power of God’s love and forgiveness into a world in deep need of healing. There are those who suffer from emotional and mental wounds, but the wounds will never heal without forgiving others as well as forgiving ourselves. Forgiveness heals us, and it heals others.
CS Lewis once said, "To be a Christian is to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." It is God's will for us to forgive our enemies. Listen to what St. Peter says: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:9). When someone hurts us badly, are we willing to forgive them?