The unbelievable good news is that God forgives – endlessly.

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17

Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

M atthew 18:21–19:1  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. (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.' (27) And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. (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. (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. (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."  (19:1) Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.

M editation by Robert P. Heaney

I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Is this another hopelessly idealistic saying of Jesus? Or is there something we not only can do, but should do – must do?

We have to ask ourselves: “What do I really want?” Do I want to be able to say “Well, I did my part” or “I did all that could reasonably be expected” or “I did all I could”? Or is reconciliation with my brother what I want – my brothers’ salvation actually? It’s not, after all, about me. It’s about my brother or sister. Can I ever be content to remain unreconciled – to hold a grudge? Can I ever accept his or her turning away from God? Obviously not. There can be no limit to my willingness to forgive. There may be a limit to what I can personally do to change things, but always I can forgive. To forgive means not to hold something against another – in an accounting sense, as in “forgive a debt”.

Jesus frequently resorted to hyperbole to make his point, as today’s parable illustrates. The steward’s debt would have amounted to eight figures in today’s dollars – a deliberately fantastic amount. Seventy-seven is also a huge number. It would take my brother a lifetime to offend me that many times. And the Jewish system didn’t have torturers for debtors. Jesus’ point in all this exaggeration is that the Christian ethic is not an accounting ethic at all (as Peter and his contemporaries presumed). Seventy-seven is just as irrelevant as seven. The Christian ethic is a “therefore” ethic. God has forgiven me, therefore I must forgive my brother. That response turned Peter’s worldview upside down. I suspect, if we think about it, it would turn ours on its head as well. A popular image of the pearly gates has St. Peter checking the records to see if we get in. – like Santa, checking to see “if we’ve been naughty or nice”. The unbelievable good news is that God forgives – endlessly. There is no proportion at all between my sinning against God’s good creation and my brother’s sinning against me. So, Jesus says, don’t try to reckon it.

What is even more amazing, is not just God’s astounding forgiveness, but His gift of His Son. As the Exultet, sung at the Easter Vigil, says: “Oh happy fault! Oh necessary sin . . . to merit so great a Redeemer!” It’s not just that we have been forgiven. We’ve been gifted – incomprehensibly, unimaginably gifted. Thus, our own duty – our vocation – is not just forgiving others, but gifting others with the gift of ourselves.

S upplementary Reading

DREAmS

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  - Deuteronomy 31:8

I never liked making plans for myself, especially big-time ones. Back in college, when people asked me what my plans were after graduation, I usually answered that my main goal is to graduate first and plan later. I thought it was smart, and I guess it is, for some time. But when I graduated, I suddenly faced a whole new horizon in front of me. One that I was afraid to explore because I didn’t know where to start in the first place.

So, on my 21st birthday, a few months after I graduated, I decided to finally make plans. Big plans for my dreams in life. Plans like travel around the world and the Philippines , go on a Marian pilgrimage, put up a bookstore, publish at least two fiction books.... It was exciting to write down all those plans, but it scared me as well. What if they don’t come true? What if writing them down would just lead me to failure?

But God is faithful, and just as He promised the Israelites that He would never leave them, He hasn’t left my side either. I’m far from fulfilling all of my dreams but I believe I will get to do them — and more — in God’s time. Tina Matanguihan (Kerygma)

R EFLECTION:

Don’t be afraid of the future! God is with you every step of the way.

• 08/15/2009 00:05 - Aug 18, 2009 - Tuesday Meditation (Unshackled from Wealth)
• 08/14/2009 23:49 - Aug 17, 2009 - Monday Meditation (Possessions - Obstructions)
• 08/14/2009 05:19 - Aug 16, 2009 - Sunday Meditation (Faith in the Life Giving Bread)
• 08/13/2009 03:13 - Aug 15, 2009 - Saturday Meditation (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Body and Soul)
• 08/13/2009 02:36 - Aug 14, 2009 - Friday Meditation (Jesus High Ideals on Marriage)

• 08/11/2009 02:06 - Aug 12, 2009 - Wednesday Meditation (Ablaze for God)
• 08/10/2009 02:50 - Aug 11, 2009 - Tuesday Meditation (God's Guidance)
• 08/06/2009 02:54 - Aug 10, 2009 - Monday Meditation (Is it REAP and SOW?)
• 08/06/2009 02:05 - Aug 9, 2009 - Sunday Meditation (Bread - Blessed and Broken for Others)
• 08/06/2009 02:00 - Aug 8, 2009C - Saturday Meditation (In Our Emptiness, We will have MORE Room for HIM!)