TEXT: The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 18: 21-35

Human beings so often look for excuses to avoid the hard sayings of Jesus.

We look for the "escape clause of the "law," and figure if we keep just up to that point, that may just be enough to give us a, well, a respectable entry into the celestial kingdom?  After all, God is "reasonable," right?  Sure God would not give us something to do, like "forgive a person" that was "impossible" to do?

I have asked this question, that St. Peter asked, when I was once confronted in the past with a person that was not too forgivable in my eyes.  Goodness, I thought, if that person does not want to be forgiven, why should I even take the first step?  I would reason in my mind.

I figured, that, if the person did not want to be forgiven, and I had forgiven him thus and so many times, somehow, I was "off the hook."

Isn’t that the way God sees it?  I would reason.

St. Peter asked the question. . .

21  Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

Who is my brother?

It is every person on earth that I have anything to do with, even those whom I have not met yet.

Yes, we may rationalize by saying that my brother is my family, my friends only, the people close to me, the people I like and who respect me.  We may rationalize this.  But, Jesus will not allow us to get away with that.  It is not so easy, this way of the Cross, when Jesus calls us to our true vocation of walking with him.

He speaks of a king. . .

23  "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;
25 and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26  So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'

Before the Justice and Righteousness of God we are very poor.  Interestingly, in one of the passage of Holy Scripture, when Jesus speaks to a Church, the Church at Laodicea, which tends to be like us in many ways, as I have observed it, we hear these words from Jesus -- (Cf., Apoc. 3:13-22, RSV)

13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.
15 "'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!
16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.
17  For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
18 Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
19  Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
21 He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

JESUS said -- "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked."

Beloved, before God, we are beggars.

Before God, we are poor beggars, who have profound need of the perfect righteousness and justice of God.  We need the sanctifying grace of God to become holy.

We are sinful, but, Jesus extends his Mercy.  He is rich in Mercy, and, we need Jesus.

Without the Vine, we can do nothing (Cf. John 15)

So, the story continues with the servant who had absolute need for the mercy of this king with the words -- 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'

The king responded,

27 And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

The king forgave the debt.

My friends, God forgave our debt.  Jesus paid the price for our sins.  The Lamb of God. . . grants us peace, the Peace of Christ, as we say in the Mass.

But, wait, what happens here?

The story is well known and is a hard saying of Jesus.

28 But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii;  and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.'
29 So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
30 He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.

Sounds strange?

No, it happens every day.  I see it.  You see it.

Those forgiven refuse to act accordingly.

Hmmmm, this in interesting?

The wisdom of this world is like that.  The wisdom of this world does not call for penance (conversion) in a heart which acts out according to the mercy shown to it.  The wisdom of this world is often followed by those who merely profess to know God, but, allow God to do not real change within the heart that affects the life with a changed heart and actions accordingly.

The Wisdom of God transforms the whole person.  It makes practical our baptism and faith -- it lives out --

II Cor. 5:17

(17 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation;  the old has passed away, behold, the new has come,) and

Eph. 2:8-10

(8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.) ;

James 1:22- 27

(22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing. 26 If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.) ;

James 2:20

(20 Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren?)

Faith brings forth good works, not, evil works.  Good fruit, not, bad fruit.  It is the fruit of the Last Eve, not, the fruits of the first Eve, if you please?

So, the brothers and sisters saw the actions of that servant who treated the other servant in a bad way.

31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.

People watch us, folks.

We had better realize that people are watching and know what justice and righteousness is all about.

God sees what is happening.

We cannot fool God.

The king Jesus spoke of was not fooled either.

32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me;
33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'
34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.
35  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

That is the message to us -- forgive your brother from your heart!

That is the key, it appears, to being forgiven by God.

Jesus desires a people that are forgiving.

WE must take the first step.

We cannot, or dare not, wait for another to take the first step.

I listen on occasion to those who take each other to court.  There is such ""unforgiveness"" between them.  The pain and "unforgiveness" takes on a "demonic" life of its own, as people squabble over the smallest matters that would have been better resolved through the practice of forgiveness.
Mary has certainly forgiven those who crucified her Son.

She was with the apostles in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, her Spouse, and, there were 3000 people that came to know Christ, and, were baptized of the people of Israel.  These were the same people that cried out for the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Yet, Mary, the Mother of God -- forgave.

She calls us to love God and to love one another today.

Today, will you hear the Voice of Jesus and hear the words that will give you Peace here before we come to the altar for Eucharist?  Before we bring our gifts to the altar -- let us forgive from our hearts.

". . . forgive your brother from your heart."



Deus et Sanctissima.