First
Reading – Ecclesiasticus 27:33-28:9 ©
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 102(103):1-4, 9-12 ©
Second
Reading – Romans 14:7-9 ©
Gospel Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9,
John 6:68
Alternative Acclamation – John 13:34
The Gospel According to Matthew 18:21
- 35 ©
(NJB)
The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time (Year A)
Love your neighbor, including the
stranger among you. Pray for those who persecute you, forgive and seek
forgiveness, accept it when it is offered.
Walk with humility, be merciful and
love justice all the days of your life, these are the teaching of Jesus.
Where the author of Ecclesiasticus
errs is when he suggests that God keeps account of our sins; the creator of the
universe is not a bookkeeper, or a banker. Our lives are not summarized by a
double entry ledger, marking our merits and demerits.
The economy of salvation is not a
marketplace where we exchange mercy for mercy.
Grace is a gift, and all of God’s
children receive it freely.
No one is left out.
Consider the words of the psalmist:
Give thanks to God, for the peace of
God’s blessing, for the blessing of life, of freedom, of self-determination and
every other aspect of our being that contributes to our personhood.
Give thanks to those who are loving,
to the peacemakers and bless them as you are able.
Bless all of God’s children, as God
does, love them all, both the good and the bad, the helpful and the harmful,
the just and the unjust.
And remember this, God is not a king,
God is not a Lord. God does not favor one group over another. God does not
intervene in the affairs of human beings.
God, the creator
of the universe, God is the God of everything, of everyone, in all places and
all times.
God always
identifies with us, desires what is good for us and works in subtle ways to
bring us toward that end. God is confident of God’s plan and the fulfillment of
God’s will, even if we are not.
Listen!
When
leaders arise among us we must acknowledge them; when that leadership is pure,
and we see that their work is holy we must acknowledge that. Though in acknowledging
these things it is important that we do not embellish.
Know this:
God speaks
to all people. God speaks in the human heart. God is present to anyone who will
listen, but God does not favor some over others, and God does not appear in
visions.
In every
way, but the way of the hear, God is silent.
This is the
good news: God loves you and you are saved. You are not saved for anything that
you have done, you did not earn your salvation, you are saved because God loves
you.
The promise
of salvation is not that you will be spared from suffering and torment in hell,
or that when you are judged God will forgive you.
God has
already forgiven you. You are already saved.
God has
prepared you as God has prepared everyone, for eternal life.
Believe it!
Let the
goodness of the promise flow through you now, and start living this life as if
it were true.
We are not
called to believe in the idea that Jesus is this or that, the Holy One of God,
we are called to act on the principles of his faith, to live lives of charity
and service to one another.
Love one another.
To follow Jesus is to lead with love.
Love as Jesus loved. Be humble, be merciful, be
just.
Be prepared to risk everything for the sake of love,
even your life.
In this way you will be true to Jesus, there is no
other way.
Faith (which is the trust we place in God); faith is
not about words, it is about actions. Faith is not ideology, it is not
partisan, it is not dogmatic, it is not doctrinaire. Faith is not a legally
binding agreement or a contract. Faith is not concerned with creeds, or
secrets, or magic words.
Faith is love.
Consider
the gospel for today:
Forgive,
be merciful.
Forget
every word in this passage except these:
Do
not settle on merely forgiving someone seven times, but forgive them seventy-seven
times.
Do
not place limits on your mercy.
If
it is in your power to forgive someone, forgive them.
Forgive
your sister and brother, your father and mother, your neighbor, the stranger,
even the one who persecuted you.
Forgive
them from your heart, and forgive yourself.
Do
not be like the servant who receives mercy, and then refuses to be merciful.
Do
not be like Peter who time and time again failed to understand the teaching of
Jesus.
The
writers of Matthew’s Gospel remembered to articulate the endless bounty of
Jesus’ compassion. They remembered this and placed that at the beginning of
this passage.
Forgive
the wrongdoer, Jesus said, not once, not twice, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times.
They
remembered this and then quickly drafted a parable in which the principle actor
fails to follow suit, forgiving his servant once, but not a second time.
Follow
Jesus, and correct the Church.
First
Reading – Ecclesiasticus 27:33-28:9 ©
Forgive
Your Neighbour the Hurt He Does You; and When You Pray, Your Sins Will Be Forgiven
Resentment
and anger, these are foul things, and both are found with the sinner.
He
who exacts vengeance will experience the vengeance of the Lord, who keeps
strict account of sin.
Forgive
your neighbour the hurt he does you, and when you pray, your sins will be
forgiven.
If
a man nurses anger against another, can he then demand compassion from the
Lord?
Showing
no pity for a man like himself, can he then plead for his own sins?
Mere
creature of flesh, he cherishes resentment; who will forgive him his sins?
Remember
the last things, and stop hating, remember dissolution and death, and live by
the commandments.
Remember
the commandments, and do not bear your neighbour ill-will; remember the
covenant of the Most High, and overlook the offence.
Responsorial
Psalm – Psalm 102(103):1-4, 9-12 ©
The
Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
My
soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My
soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The
Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
It
is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who
redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The
Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His
wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He
does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
The
Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
For
as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As
far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
The
Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.
Second
Reading – Romans 14:7-9 ©
Alive
or Dead, We Belong to the Lord
The
life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live
for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we
belong to the Lord. This explains why Christ both died and came to life: it was
so that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Gospel
Acclamation – 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Speak,
Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Alternative
Acclamation – John 13:34
Alleluia,
alleluia!
I
give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you, says the
Lord.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to Matthew 18:21
- 35 ©
To Be forgiven, You Must forgive
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.’
The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time (Year A)
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