Twenty Fourth Sunday of the Year (Year A)

Twenty Fourth Sunday of the Year September 17, 2023

Ecclesiastics 27:30-28:7   Romans 14:7-9   Matthew 18:21-35

(image courtesy: Google)

There is the story of a man named George Wilson who in 1830 killed a government employee who caught him in the act of robbing the mails. He was tried and condemned to death by hanging. But the then President of the United States, Andrew Jackson granted him executive pardon. George Wilson, however, refused to accept the pardon. The Department of Corrections did not know what to do. The case was taken to the Supreme Court where Chief Justice Marshall ruled that “a pardon is a slip of paper, the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.” And hanged he was. Even if we are opposed to the death penalty, we still cannot but agree with the principle that pardon granted has to be accepted to become effective. This is the point of today's gospel. When God forgives us, we must accept God's forgiveness. But then the gospel goes on to indicate that the way to accept God's forgiveness is not just to say “Amen, so be it!” but to go out and forgive somebody.

The first reading and the gospel convey an important message today. In the first reading of today Sirach tells us that we must forgive our neighbour if we want God to forgive our own sins. We must be merciful if we want to obtain mercy from God. We must not seek revenge on a neighbour of ours lest God should take vengeance on us.  If we remember our end in life, we will keep God’s commandments and we will not be angry with our neighbour who offends us.  He says it is possible only for a sinful man to be angry with his neighbour. The man who repays the neighbour in kind must expect God to do likewise to him.   Only when we forgive the other person generously, then only God will forgive us. While we expect mercy and forgiveness from the infinite God whom we have offended, we often refuse a brother even a small measure of mercy and forgiveness.

Why do we usually find it hard to forgive others? I think the reason is because we fail to appreciate and celebrate our own forgiveness. Like the ungrateful servant in the parable, we focus on the 100 denarii our neighbour owes us rather than the 10,000 talents we owe to God, which God has graciously cancelled. Let us think about this in perspective. A denarius is a labourer’s daily wage. So his fellow servant owed him 100 days pay, which could be paid back in a couple of months. But this same servant owed his master 10,000 talents. A talent was equal to 6,000 denarii. So he owed his master the equivalent of 60,000,000 denarii. For a labourer working 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, it would take 280,000 years to raise that kind of money. This astronomical figure shows that the servant owed his master so much that there was absolutely no way he could ever hope to repay that. This is symbolic of the debt each of us owes God through sin; a debt we could never ever hope to repay even if we spent out whole life is sackcloth and ashes. Not even the combined penitence of all humankind suffices to blot out a single sin. But God in his infinite mercy sent his own Son to die on the cross and take away our sins. And all He asks of us is to be grateful; to realise that He has done for us so much more than we could ever be required to do for our neighbour.

Forgiveness is the Path to Freedom:

Forgiveness is not easy. It requires humility, compassion, and a deep understanding of God's forgiveness in our own lives. However, when we choose to forgive, we experience a profound sense of freedom:

a. Freedom from bitterness: Forgiveness liberates us from the heavy weight of resentment and bitterness, allowing us to heal and move forward.

b. Freedom to love: By forgiving others, we open our hearts to love more fully and authentically, following Christ's commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

c. Freedom to receive God's forgiveness: Our willingness to forgive reflects our openness to receive God's forgiveness. As we forgive others, we also receive the abundant mercy of God.

What could be my personal job? Read this story.

Once two brothers, who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a carpenter looking for a job.  The older brother said "I do have a job for you."  Showing his brother’s farm he said, Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer and has made a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me and I want you to build me a fence --an 8-foot fence -- so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore." The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Give me the material and I will do the needful." The older brother had to go to town. The carpenter worked hard all day. About sunset when the farmer returned, his eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all -- and, his younger brother was coming toward them, his hand outstretched. "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."  The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and embraced each other.  They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother. "I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, but I have many more bridges to build.

First of all, let me forgive others and can I be the carpenter in today’s world?

Think about it!

 

Happy Sunday