Word to the Wise
Friday, August 17, 2018 - Thursday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 12:1-2 and Matt 18:21-19:1]THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2018 THURSDAY IN THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Ezekiel 12:1-12 and Matthew 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." This dialogue between Jesus and Peter is followed by the parable of the Unforgiving Servant. A servant who owes his master a huge amount begs for more time to pay and the master, moved with compassion, forgives the whole debt. But when that servant leaves and encounters a fellow servant who owes him a small amount, he refuses to show any mercy. This gets back to the master and the first servant is called back in and the debt reinstituted because, after receiving mercy, he failed to do the same. The last line of the parable recalls the words that appear right after the Lord's Prayer earlier in this gospel to the effect that if we do not forgive others, we cannot expect God to forgive us. [Matthew 6:14-15]. A year or so ago, the church celebrated a "year of mercy," but the need to show mercy did not disappear when that celebration ended. The challenge is still with us and seems to grow larger according to the degree to which we feel aggrieved. Indeed, the grievance may not affect us personally but we still feel it when we hear of a particularly horrendous crime. On the level of legally criminal offenses, we may echo something often said in the last political campaign, "Lock_____up!" We may also feel a twinge at Pope Francis' declaration that the death penalty is no longer morally acceptable. Mercy and revenge do not get along well. Unfortunately, justice is often tainted by revenge rather than restoration or reconciliation, which Jesus clearly teaches in the gospels. I have heard Peter's question before in my pastoral experience. "Do I have to forgive him/her/them? The answer is always, "Yes." However, that does not take away the necessity to remedy the harm done. A desire for mercy, whether from God or neighbor, must include a desire to do something to heal and restore. At parish missions, the examination of conscience that I use focuses on the task of forgiveness and mercy rather than on particular lapses. The response is profound and Jesus' teaching becomes more personal. Mercy challenges us all in the words of Jesus! AMEN
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