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Thursday – Nineteenth Week – OT2
Readings: Eze 12:1-12; Mt 18:21-19:1.
Reading 1 (Eze 12:1-12):
God’s temple in heaven was opened,
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.
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.
Fr. Anthony Dinh Minh Tien, O.P.
I. THEME: Forgive others as be forgiven by God.
When reading the Old Testament, one can clearly recognize the process: sin -> punish -> repent -> forgive, in the relationship between God and the Israelites. Sin can’t be avoided when people are still in the flesh. When people sinned, they need to be punished so that they can recognize their sin before they can repent. The purpose of punishment isn’t to destroy people, but to help them to be better. When people repented, God shall forgive them; He shall forget all of their sins, recover their right as God’s children, and continue His relationship with them. But if people are stubborn in their sins and refuse to repent, forgiveness shall not be happened.
Today readings rotate around the process: sin -> punish -> repent -> forgive. In the first reading, the Israelites sinned against God and others. God sent the prophet Ezekiel to accuse of their sins and to threaten them that war and exile shall be happened; but they refused to repent. God called them the rebellious house, they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear; therefore they shall be destroyed by war and famine. In the Gospel, Jesus taught his disciples to forgive others as many times as they repent. If anyone refuses to forgive others when they repented, God shall not forgive him.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: “They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear.”
With only two short verses, God let the prophet Ezekiel see the Israelites’ stubborness, they refused to repent to be forgiven.
In order to clearly understand the situation of the Israelites, we need to read the whole chapter. Though the Israelites have ears, they refused to listen to God’s commands through His prophets. God used other way to teach them by commanding Ezekiel to act as he is going to be on exile, with a hope that they will see and repent. Ezekiel displayed his exilic luggage during the day for the Israelites to see and then put them back in the bag. When the evening came, he used his hands to make an opening on the wall to get out, his head was covered, and his luggage on his shoulder, etc. If anyone asks him that why he does such strange acts, he shall explain for them that the same thing shall happen to them if they don’t repent.
Though they heard and saw, the Israelites were still stubborn, refused to repent in order to receive forgiveness, so God said to the prophet Ezekiel these following words: “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.” However, God still opens the way for the exilic people: Whoever repents and returns, He shall let them back to their country and to re-establish their nation and temple.
2/ Gospel: The hardness of forgiveness
2.1/ How many times one must forgive his opponent? We must be grateful for Peter’s fast reaction and his sincerity; because of him, we had Jesus’ clear explanation about the touchy and very difficult problem to handle.
How many times must we forgive others? A Vietnamese adage said, “The maximum is three times.” The Jewish custom said, “The maximum is seven times.” St. Peter based on the tradition when he asked Jesus, “As many as seven times?” Jesus’ answer are startled us, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”
The commentators used to argue with each other, what is Jesus meant of “seventy-seven times?” Some said it is 70 times 7, which equal to 490 times. Others said it is 707 or 777, a huge number. The important point which Jesus wanted to emphasize is that whenever our opponent said that he is sorry, we must forgive him. Many people shook their head and joked: Even the saints in the altar must come down to solve the problem, how can we forgive to those who keep sinning against us? But if we know that to become good is a progress which needs to be practiced many times, we must patiently forgive others.
2.2/ Why must we forgive? Instead of giving the answer, Jesus gave a clear example which can solve many other problems related to forgiveness. He said, “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.”
The contrast between the two debts and the manner of solving showed the wickedness of the one who was forgiven. The amount he was forgiven is ten thousand talents (tálanton) which is corresponding to 4.8 million dollars (one talent is about 5000-6000 denarii); while the amount his friend owed him was only 100 denarii (about 10 dollars). If we compare the two debts, this amout is so small. We were told of his action toward his friend, “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 him put in prison until he paid back the debt.”
Why did he act as such? Because he thought that no one shall know his action, especially the one who forgave him. But all the things he did couldn’t be hidden from his friends since these people could also be his debtor’s friends. “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.”
Similarly in our relationship with God, if we refuse to forgive the small sins of our brothers and sisters as the wicked in today passage, how can we expect God to forgive the serious sin which we committed against Him? Therefore, forgiveness isn’t an option, but a duty and the punishment if we don’t, as Jesus warned us: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– One of main reasons which leads to divorce and division in today family is because people can’t forgive others. Forgiveness helps us to heal all division and to live in peace.
– In order to forgive, we need to frequently examine our conscience to recognize our sins and weaknesses. If we aren’t perfect, why do we expect others to be perfect? Therefore, to receive frequently the sacrament of Reconciliation is the key to keep our family happy.
– If we don’t often examine our conscience, we easily fall to prideful attitude or self-righteousness. When we think we are perfect, we are easily to condemn others.