Articles

Thursday August 13

Thursday of 19th Week of Ordinary Time

SEVENTY-SEVEN TIMES

Introduction

In an expressive symbolic action Ezekiel shows how the king and most of the people will have to go into exile because they remain rebellious against God.
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 EZ 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 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 119:135

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.

Commentary

In the performance of his prophetic action, Ezekiel clearly announces the punishment of God upon his obstinate people. In the daytime he is to prepare his baggage, then at night dig a hole through the city wall and go off in the darkness. Punishment in terms of capture and deportation was now inevitable for the Hebrew people. It was a sobering lesson indeed.
A similar price is demanded by the servant of the parable, who is merciless in his demand for repayment. In modem times, the payment of a debt, even an insignificant one, seldom takes into consideration the circumstances of the debtor. The king in today’s parable is equally exacting with his servant debtor until he is made aware of the man’s financial problems. Then the debt is forgiven in its entirety.
We sometimes have debtors who are slow to repay. We must be patient. And let us be hesitant about demanding our “pound of flesh” without considering the circumstances of the debtor. But above all, let us be mindful of our all forgiving Father who time after time has remitted all our debts without question.
This teaching comes into play when considering the death penalty. Regardless of what the crime may have been, to demand the life of the criminal is to resort to a type of murderous conduct. Conversion is always a possibility, and when it occurs God has made a gain. There are no limits to forgiveness. Let us pray for an expansive heart and to realize that pardon is at the heart of Jesus’ mission in the world.

Points to Ponder

The prophetic action of Ezekiel
The lesson of forgiveness
Reflection on the death penalty

Intercessions

– 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.