20180816
PARTICIPATING IN THE KINGDOM LIFE REQUIRES THE
CAPACITY TO FORGIVE
16 AUGUST, 2018, Thursday, 19th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 12:1-12 ©
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The oracle of exile against the whole House of Israel
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The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man,
you are living with that set of rebels who have eyes and never see, ears and
never hear, for they are a set of rebels. You, son of man, pack an exile’s
bundle and emigrate by daylight when they can see you, emigrate from where you
are to somewhere else while they watch. Perhaps they will admit then that they
are a set of rebels. You will pack your baggage like an exile’s bundle, by
daylight, for them to see, and leave like an exile in the evening, making sure
that they are looking. As they watch, make a hole in the wall, and go out
through it. As they watch, you will shoulder your pack and go out into the
dark; you will cover your face so that you cannot see the country, since I have
made you a symbol for the House of Israel.’
I did as I
had been told. I packed my baggage like an exile’s bundle, by daylight; and in
the evening I made a hole through the wall with my hand. I went out into the
dark and shouldered my pack as they watched.
The next
morning the word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, did
not the House of Israel, did not that set of rebels, ask you what you were
doing? Say, “The Lord says this: This oracle is directed against Jerusalem and
the whole House of Israel wherever they are living.” Say, “I am a symbol for
you; the thing I have done will be done to them; they will go into exile, into
banishment.” Their ruler will shoulder his pack in the dark and go out through
the wall; a hole will be made to let him out; he will cover his face rather
than see the country.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 77(78):56-59,61-62 ©
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Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
They put God to the proof and defied him;
they refused to obey the Most High.
They strayed, as faithless as their fathers,
like a bow on which the archer cannot count.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
With their mountain shrines they angered him;
made him jealous with the idols they served.
God saw this and was filled with fury:
he utterly rejected Israel.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
He gave his ark into captivity,
his glorious ark into the hands of the foe.
He gave up his people to the sword,
in his anger against his chosen ones.
Never forget the deeds of the Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:88
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Ps118:135
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:21-19:1 ©
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'How often must I forgive my brother?'
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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; but 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.
“Give me time” he said “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. “Pay what
you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him,
saying, “Give me time 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 him. “You wicked servant,” he said “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 part
of Judaea which is on the far side of the Jordan.
PARTICIPATING IN THE KINGDOM LIFE REQUIRES THE CAPACITY TO
FORGIVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EZK 12:1-12, 60, 63; MT 18:21-19:1 ]
What is the reality
of the kingdom life? It is a life of authentic freedom, joy and
love. Hence, forgiveness leading to reconciliation is one of the
essential pre-requisites to live the life of the kingdom. Thus, today’s
discourse on forgiveness for those who hurt us personally marks the end of the
great discourse on discipleship. A disciple is not only one who is in
communion with the Church, but he must also be in communion with all those who
hurt him.
Indeed, the fundamental
Christian message is the proclamation of God’s unconditional forgiveness
for us in the death of Jesus. God’s own example of forgiveness cost Him nothing
less than the life of His only Son. Both the scripture readings reveal to
us the heart and mercy of God. His desire is that we repent and stop
hurting ourselves. God does not want our death but wants us to
live. Unconditional, unlimited and complete forgiveness is the key to
healing and reconciliation. So essential is forgiveness for our
happiness that when Peter suggested seven times as the number of times
one must forgive, thinking it was generous beyond the rabbinic recommendation
of three times, it was deemed insufficient. Instead Jesus demanded, “Not
seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” In other words, the
offer of forgiveness is unlimited. There is no question of limits.
Why is
unlimited forgiveness so essential to happiness in life? The truth is that forgiveness given to
those who hurt us is more for our sake than for those who have wronged
us. It frees us from the clutch of our enemies. Harboring
resentment against others is in the final analysis self-hatred. The irony
of unforgiveness is that we punish ourselves. We become prisoners of the
hatred we have of our enemies, and that makes our life miserable. We are
not free for love. This is implied in Jesus’ analogy of the master who
handed the wicked servant “over to the torturers till he should pay all his
debts.” Like the Israelites, we are “that set of rebels who have eyes and
never see, ears and never hear.” We are blind to what we are doing to
ourselves, destroying our happiness not only in this life but more importantly,
in the next. We have numbed ourselves to the reality of unforgiveness in
our hearts.
Secondarily,
forgiveness brings healing to our enemies. They are our
enemies only because they are as hurt as we are. They too cannot forgive
us or at least forgive those who have treated them unjustly and unkindly.
As a result, they too find themselves incapable of letting go of their
hurts. This too constrains their potential to love. So by forgiving
them, we are empowering them to love us in return.
But that is not
all. Forgiveness cannot be superficial but must come from the
heart. It is not simply a verbal forgiveness with the heart still
retaining grudges and resentment. Jesus said, “And that is how my
heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from
your heart.” If the forgiveness does not come from the heart, then no
real forgiveness has taken place. Forgiveness is not a matter of logic and the
intellect but of the will and the heart. We would only be deceiving
ourselves because the lack of forgiveness from the heart will be the obstacle
to union with our fellow brother and sister. We might not even be
conscious of it because we try to suppress it. On the conscious level, we
try to justify our dislike of our enemies. But we know that we have not
forgiven from our hearts when our soul inside us is crying out in fear and for
freedom. We know how we are punishing ourselves especially when we have
nightmares of our enemies. Such nightmares are reflections of a repressed
guilt, hatred and fear. In other words, the failure to forgive from our
hearts brings back the ghosts of the past to haunt us. The only way to
put the ghosts to rest is to forgive them.
Yet it is so difficult
to forgive. This is especially so when we are in the right and
someone owes us a debt by offending us, as in the case of the wicked
servant. Like the latter, we can deal with those who transgress against
us according to our rights. As is often said, to our enemies we apply the
laws but to our friends, we apply justice. In other words, with our
friends we are compassionate in judging, interpreting and applying the spirit
of the laws liberally, but with our enemies we are fault-finding, applying the
letter of the laws strictly.
How to
forgive?
Forgiveness presupposes we have seen and heard God’s forgiveness. Unless
we are conscious of the forgiveness we have received from the Lord, we cannot
forgive. Unless we have reflected and felt God’s forgiveness in our
lives, the capacity to forgive would be limited. The problem with the
wicked servant was that he did not “hear and see” the forgiveness given
him. As a result, he treated his fellow servant who owed him such a
small amount harshly. So the inability to forgive others shows that we
have not received forgiveness ourselves. This explains why we are not
capable of love.
Even then, God
is so merciful in teaching us to forgive that he would even allow us to suffer
in order to come to realization. He loves us so much that He would
allow us to come to our senses through the tortures we inflict on
ourselves. Like the Israelites, through the exile, they were brought to
self-realization. Quite often, through our sufferings and misery we
inflict upon ourselves, we too come to realize that there is no way to find
peace and joy except in forgiveness.
It is within
this context that we can understand today’s gospel. Mt 18:17 tells
us that the Church has the right to excommunicate a member of the community if
that member refuses to repent, “if he refuses to listen to the community, treat
him like a pagan or a tax collector”. Even then, excommunication is
not the end of the process to closing the door to forgiveness. In fact,
it is hoped that such an action by the Church would bring the sinner to
realization of the gravity of his sin and thus be converted. This was
certainly true for the prophecy of Ezekiel who warned his people of the
imminent exile before them if they continued to rebel against the Lord and His
ways.
Thus, the reality
of forgiveness can be brought about in two ways. One is to be
won over by His love and mercy; the other is through suffering leading to
self-realization. But in every situation, forgiveness is always
offered. The mercy and forgiveness of God is unlimited. We who
receive that forgiveness and live that forgiveness in our lives will share the
heart of God and thus become members of the kingdom.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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