24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time –
Year A
Forgive
as We Have Been Forgiven
Sirach 27:30 - 28:7 Romans 14:7 - 9 Matthew 18:21 - 35
Dear brothers and sisters
in Christ Jesus!
Today the Word of God
speaks to us about something that is at the heart of Christian life: forgiveness.
We all know how difficult
forgiveness can be. It is easy to say, “I forgive you,” but when we have been
deeply hurt, forgiveness can take time. Sometimes we remember the words someone
said to us, the betrayal we experienced, or the injustice done to us, and the
wound remains in our heart.
Today, God invites us to
look at forgiveness not from the perspective of what others deserve, but from the perspective
of the mercy we
ourselves have received from God.
The message of today’s
readings is simple: God
forgives us, so we must learn to forgive others.
Forgive your neighbour’s injustice - Sirach
27:30 - 28:7
The first reading tells
us: “Forgive your
neighbour’s injustice.”
Sirach reminds us that
anger, revenge and resentment can destroy our hearts. Sometimes we hold on to
anger because we think:
- He hurt me.
- She treated me badly.
- I will never forget what happened.
- Why should I forgive when they have
not even said sorry?
But Sirach asks us to
look at ourselves. We too
make mistakes. We too need forgiveness.
If we expect God to
forgive our sins, we cannot completely close our hearts to those who have hurt
us. The first reading therefore gives us a challenge: Do not allow yesterday’s wound to
destroy today’s peace. Forgiveness does not change what happened in the past, but it
can change the way we live in the present.
Whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s –
Romans 14:7 - 9
St. Paul tells us: “Whether we live or we die, we
are the Lord’s.” This is a very powerful statement. Paul reminds us
that our life belongs to Christ.
Origen reminds us that we are not called to live
simply to please ourselves, but to follow the example of Christ. Christ died to
sin, and by imitating Him, we too learn to die to sin and live for God.
We cannot do this by our
own strength. Christ
is our example and our source. When we look to Him and follow His way, our lives
gradually become more like His.
Here death refers to the
death which we die when we are buried with Christ in baptism, and life is the
life we live in Christ, having deid to sin and become strangers to this world.
Theodore of Mopsuestia: if we live, it is
Christ’s life that we live; if we die, we die with him, under his custody.
If we belong to Christ,
then our anger cannot be our master.
Our hurt cannot be our
master.
Our desire for revenge
cannot be our master. Christ
must be our Master. Sometimes we define ourselves by what has
happened to us:
I
am the person who was betrayed.
I
am the person who was rejected.
I
am the person who was hurt.
But St. Paul reminds us: “You belong to the Lord.” Our wounds are part of our
story, but they do not have to become our identity. When we belong to Christ,
we are invited to live differently - with mercy, compassion and forgiveness.
How often should I forgive? –
Matthew 18:21–35
In today’s Gospel, Peter
asks Jesus: “Lord, if
another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As
many as seven times?”
The beautiful mystery of seventy-seven is this: in that special number,
the sins of all generations are symbolically represented as having been
forgiven. Since no generation is omitted, no generation misses out on the
fullness of divine forgiveness offered to us through the Cross.
Likewise, we are called
to forgive one another to the same extent that God has fully forgiven us. This
repeated call to pardon reminds us that there should never be room in our hearts for anger, jealousy,
hatred, ego, or pride. Instead, our hearts should become reflections
of the mercy and forgiveness we have received from God.
Peter thinks seven times
is already generous. But Jesus says: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Jesus then
tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. A servant owes his master an
enormous debt - something he could never repay.
The master has compassion
on him and forgives the entire debt. But after receiving such mercy, the
servant meets another person who owes him a much smaller amount.
Instead of showing mercy,
he demands payment and refuses to forgive. When the master hears about this, he
is angry. And Jesus gives us the lesson: If God has forgiven us so much, how can we refuse to
forgive others?
Every one of us is like
that first servant. We have received God’s mercy many times. God has forgiven
our sins. God has given us second chances. God has been patient with us. And therefore,
Jesus asks us to extend that same mercy to others.
Let me Share a Story
There was once a man who
was deeply hurt by someone close to him.
He was angry and could
not forgive.
One day, an old priest
gave him some advice.
The priest said, “Every time you remember the
person who hurt you, pick up a small stone and put it in your pocket.”
The man followed the
advice. One stone. Then another. Then another. After several weeks, his pockets
became full of stones.
He went back to the
priest and said, “Father, I
cannot carry these stones anymore. They are too heavy.”
The priest smiled and
said: “My son, that is
exactly what happens when you refuse to forgive. The person who hurt you may
have gone on with life, but you are still carrying the weight.”
The man understood. He
began to pray for the person who had hurt him. Little by little, he let go of
his anger. The stones were removed from his pocket - and slowly, the burden was
removed from his heart.
What does this Story Mean for us?
Brothers and
sisters, we may not
carry stones in our pockets, but sometimes we carry them in our hearts.
Every grudge can become a
stone.
Every resentment can
become a stone.
Every desire for revenge
can become a stone.
Every time we say, “I will never forgive,” we
may be adding another stone.
And eventually, the burden becomes too heavy.
Forgiveness is not
saying: “What happened was
okay.”
Forgiveness is not
forgetting everything.
Forgiveness is not
allowing someone to continue hurting us.
Forgiveness means: “I will not carry this hatred
anymore. I place this person and this pain into God’s hands.”
Sometimes we need
boundaries.
Sometimes we need
justice.
Sometimes reconciliation
may not be possible.
But even when
reconciliation is impossible, forgiveness is still possible with God’s grace.
Dear brothers and
sisters, today’s readings invite us to ask ourselves three simple
questions:
Whom do I need to
forgive? From whom do I need to ask forgiveness? What burden am I still
carrying in my heart?
Jesus reminds
us: “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy
on you?”
We come to the Eucharist
as people who need God’s mercy. And having received that mercy, we are called
to become people of mercy. Perhaps we cannot forgive everything in one day, but
we can take the first step and pray: “Lord, I cannot forgive by my own
strength. Give me your heart and help me to forgive as You have forgiven me.”
LIVE JESUS!
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