Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES
Introduction
In an epic style, imitating that of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds at the Exodus, the author of the Book of Joshua narrates how the people of Israel crossed the Jordan and entered into the Promised Land.
God is good and merciful by nature, forgiving, loyal, radiating generosity. It is natural for him to forgive. In our case, things are more complicated. Are we understanding and forgiving by nature? By calling, yes, but by nature? And second, in God’s case there is only one offended party, God. In our situation, quite often, there are two offenders and two offended parties. Shall the twain ever meet, if only one is willing to let bygones be bygones and to make a fresh start? When we are hurt, we have to tear the word or gesture of forgiveness from our hearts. And yet, we have to do it seventy-times seven times, says the Lord…
Opening Prayer
God of mercy and compassion,
you know how sometimes
we have to wring forgiveness from our torn hearts.
Maybe we cannot pardon in others
what we condemn in ourselves.
We are at the same time guilty and offended.
God, help us to understand ourselves,
that we may be more understanding to others
and that we may learn to forgive
totally and without regret
as you forgive us again and again
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
The LORD said to Joshua,
“Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses.
Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant
to come to a halt in the Jordan
when you reach the edge of the waters.”
So Joshua said to the children of Israel,
“Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.
This is how you will know that there is a living God in your midst,
who at your approach will dispossess the Canaanites.
The ark of the covenant of the LORD of the whole earth
will precede you into the Jordan.
When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of the whole earth,
touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow;
for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank.”
The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan,
with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark
waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan,
which overflows all its banks
during the entire season of the harvest,
than the waters flowing from upstream halted,
backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed,
from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan;
while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah
disappeared entirely.
Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
While all Israel crossed over on dry ground,
the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD
remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan
until the whole nation had completed the passage.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of alien tongue,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his domain.
R. Alleluia!
The sea beheld and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like the lambs of the flock.
R. Alleluia!
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
You mountains, that you skip like rams?
You hills, like the lambs of the flock?
R. Alleluia!
Alleluia: Ps 119:135
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Mt 18:21–19:1
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Intentions
– 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.
Reflection:
Aug 17
Mathew 18: 21 – 19:1
To be Christian 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 toyou 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. Jesussays 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 the emotional and mental wounds, but the wounds will never heal without forgiving others as well as forgivingourselves. 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 mayinherit a blessing” (1 Pet 3:9).
When someone hurts us badly, are we willing to forgive them?