FIRST READING
Ezekiel 12:1-12
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on, prepare your baggage as though for exile, and again while they are looking on, migrate from where you live to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on; in the evening, again while they are looking on, you shall go out like one of those driven into exile; while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it; while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness; cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my baggage as though it were that of an exile, and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you what you were doing? Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; as captives they shall go into exile. The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole he has dug out in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62
R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High, and kept not his decrees. They turned back and were faithless like their fathers; they recoiled like a treacherous bow.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
They angered him with their high places and with their idols roused his jealousy. God heard and was enraged and utterly rejected Israel.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
And he surrendered his strength into captivity, his glory in the hands of the foe. He abandoned his people to the sword and was enraged against his inheritance.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
ALLELUIA
Psalm 119:135
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
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. 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.
REFLECTIONS:
Does mercy trump justice? Justice demands that everyone
be given their due. So when is it right to show mercy and pardon to those
who have acted unjustly or wrongly? The prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving
transgression three times, but warns that God may not revoke punishment
for the fourth (see Amos 1:3-13; 2:1-6). When Peter posed the question
of forgiveness, he characteristically offered an answer he thought Jesus
would be pleased with. Why not forgive seven times! How unthinkable for
Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must forgive seventy times
that. Jesus made it clear that there is no reckonable limit to forgiveness.
And he drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds
of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money millions in our
currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue
of a province more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was
forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however bring himself to forgive
his neighbor a very small debt which was about one-hundred-thousandth of
his own debt.
The contrast could not have been greater! No offence our neighbor can
do to us can compare with our debt to God! We have been forgiven a debt
which is beyond all paying; to ransom our debt of sin God gave up his only
begotten Son. Paul the Apostle states, "you were bought with a price" (1
Corinthians 7:23 ) and that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through
the shedding of his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness
and pardon for our offenses, but release from captivity from bondage
and slavery to sin. Christ came to redeem us from a sinful way of life.
"You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers ...with
the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem
us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways
of wrongdoing or sin. We have been forgiven an enormous debt which we could
never possibly repay. God expects us to treat one another the same way
he treats us. If God has forgiven each of us our debt, which was very great,
we, too must forgive others whatever debt they owe us.
Jesus teaches that one must forgive in order to be forgiven (Matthew
6:12,14-15). If we do not forgive our fellow human beings, we cannot expect
God to forgive us in turn. The Apostle James says that "judgment is
without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13). Mercy is
truly a gift and it is offered in such a way that justice is not negated.
Mercy seasons justice as salt
seasons meat and gives it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it.
To pardon the unrepentant is not mercy but license. C.S. Lewis, a 20th
century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will flower only when it grows in
the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of
mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous
because it is still called by the same name as the mountain variety."
If we want mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others as God
has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment towards anyone?
"Lord Jesus, you have been kind and forgiving towards me. May I be merciful
as you are merciful. Free me from all bitterness and resentment that I
may truly forgive from the heart those who have caused me injury or grief."
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