20260813 FORGIVENESS THE HALLMARK OF A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
13 August 2026, Thursday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Ezekiel 12:1-12 |
The oracle of exile against the whole House of Israel
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 77(78):56-59,61-62 |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:88 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Because of your love give me life,
and I will do your will.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 18:21-19:1 |
'How often must I forgive my brother?'
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.
FORGIVENESS THE HALLMARK OF A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EZEKIEL 12:1-12; MATTHEW 18:21-19:1]
There are Christians and there are Christians. Many call themselves Christians and are proud to be known as such. They even champion the faith and seek to convert people to Christianity. They speak highly of the Christian faith and proclaim that Christ is the only Saviour of the world. Yet for all their boasting about Christ, what contradicts their faith is that not only do they hate non-Christians, but they also cannot forgive anyone in their lives–even fellow Christians. They proclaim that Christ is close to them, and that they are filled with God’s love and presence, especially when they worship Him, receive Him in Holy Communion, or spend time adoring the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. But the way they treat their fellow Catholics and fellow human beings often lacks charity and compassion. They have no tolerance for people who make mistakes or for those who have done them wrong. They think they are perfect and expect others to be perfect like them. Therefore, if someone does something wrong, they will curse and condemn them. And if they themselves are wronged, they become vindictive and unforgiving, wanting the offender to be penalised, shamed, and humiliated by authority–and hopefully even in public.
The truth is that a Christian community is not a perfect community. We are saints by virtue of our baptism because we are all God’s beloved. But we are also sinners because we have imperfections and weaknesses, and sometimes we even deliberately cause harm to others. The ideal Christian community–where everyone loves one another and shares everything they have–is a dream that will only be fulfilled in the next life. There will always be sin in the community, causing friction, misunderstandings, a lack of trust, disappointment, and pain. This is why, for a Christian community to stay intact and united in spite of sin and misunderstanding, Christians must always forgive one another. This is the hallmark of being a Christian. Love and charity for the poor and suffering are taught in every religion, but the call to love our enemies is fundamental to Christ’s teaching.
Already in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed His disciples to forgive their enemies: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.'” (Mt 5:43-45) Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel focuses on sin and scandal in the community. Earlier on, Jesus warns us against causing scandal to the little ones (Mt 18:6f). But while warning us of the consequences of sin (Mt 18:8f), He also speaks in the same breath of the mercy of God, like a shepherd going out after the lost sheep (Mt 18:10-14). After which, He outlines the process of reprimanding and reconciling an offending member of the community (Mt 18:15-20).
In today’s Gospel, Peter thought he was being ultra-generous toward those who had done wrong. He confidently asked the Lord and provided his own answer: “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” This response must have been shocking to Peter, because he thought he had already gone far beyond what the law required. The prophet Amos speaks of three transgressions of Israel that could be forgiven by God, but no more (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13). So to forgive more than three times meant being even more gracious than God. Judaism also stressed forgiveness, but saw the need to limit it to just three times, lest the person lack genuine repentance, which would then result in a miscarriage of justice. Indeed, it is argued that to show mercy and pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy, but licence. Thus, mercy presupposes repentance. So how do we solve this apparent conundrum?
Let us take God as the model for forgiveness. In the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus illustrates the magnitude of God’s mercy–far beyond anyone’s imagination. The truth remains that each one of us owes God more than we can ever pay. This is the thrust of the parable, where Jesus tells the story of a servant who was forgiven an impossible debt–an amount equivalent to the tax payable to the Roman Emperor for an entire province. Yet, after being forgiven by his master, that same servant could not forgive a fellow servant who owed him an insignificant amount–about two months’ wages for a labourer. When the master heard of it, he said, “You wicked servant, 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?” In his anger, the master handed him over to the torturers until 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.”
In the case of God, mercy precedes justice. God forgave the servant completely, without requiring him to pay back anything. And that is how God loves us, even when we sin against Him. He does not stop loving us, and He does not stop forgiving us. Christ’s death on the cross clearly demonstrates that when we sin, God’s mercy precedes justice. Jesus did not die on the cross for the just, but for sinners: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)
If there is any justice to be rendered, it is the justice paid to His Father, rather than demanding justice from us, who are sinners. By His death on the cross, Jesus rendered justice on behalf of us all to His Father, whom we had disobeyed and from whom we deserved punishment. Jesus paid for our sins through His sacrifice on the cross. He freely gave up His life as a ransom for our slavery to sin (cf. Mt 20:28). Indeed, St. Paul wrote, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom 3:23-26) Indeed, we were bought with a price (1 Cor 7:23). Truly, the Lord by His mercy has set us free from a futile way of life (cf. 1 Pt 1:18). Clearly, we have been forgiven even before we repent.
However, receiving God’s forgiveness is not complete if we, who claim to accept the mercy of God, do not render mercy to others–which is the true indication that we have been justified by God. In other words, if we say we have been forgiven by God unconditionally, then the manifestation of this justified state is the capacity to extend that same forgiveness to those who sin against us. Forgiving others is therefore not just a Christian duty; it is an indicator of whether one has truly understood, appreciated, and received the forgiveness of God in their own life. If someone has received forgiveness, they cannot help but forgive others, since any offense against us pales in comparison to our offenses against God. By refusing to let go of our resentment, we show that we are just like the first servant, who was forgiven an enormous debt but refused to forgive the tiny debt owed to him by a fellow servant.
Consequently, we are reminded by the responsorial psalm, “Never forget the deeds of the Lord.” The failure of the inhabitants of Judah was their refusal to listen to the voice of the Lord through the warnings given by the prophets. They failed to take heed of God’s mercy and forgiveness time and time again. Hence, the Lord eventually allowed them to continue in their stubbornness and disobedience, which resulted in the loss of their land, the temple, and their kingdom. The prophecy of Ezekiel regarding the consequences of rejecting God’s overtures of repentance came true when, during the second exile to Babylon in 586 BC, King Zedekiah saw his sons killed before his eyes before his own eyes were gouged out, leaving him blind. Likewise, when we fail to see God’s mercy for us, we too will suffer for our blindness.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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