HOMILY FOR TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9 and Matthew 18:21-35. 

FORGIVENESS BRINGS HEALING. 

 

Recently, there was a video of a mother and son that went viral, a little boy teaching his mother on how to control her anger, saying to her, “Mummy, just be calming down.” Reflecting on the readings of today, the voice of this little boy echoes again as two important things strikes my attention: anger and forgiveness. How well have we been able to manage our anger and how often do we forgive? Are we tired of forgiving and can't forgive anymore? To some of us, little things triggers our anger and it affects the rest of our day. It could be personal problems, such as difficulties in relationship or missing a promotion at work. It could be problems caused by others such as family members or friends, cancelling plans of meetings or a heavy traffic can also provoke our anger. Hence, do we allow our anger to leave us with grudge and bitterness, which eventually result to unforgiveness?

 

In the first reading, Sirach, also known as, Ecclesiasticus tells us that, “anger and wrath are abomination and the sinful man possesses them… does a man harbours anger against another, and yet seek for healing from God? Does he have no mercy towards a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins? If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, will he then seek forgiveness from God?” These questions reminds us of the famous adage, “To err is human and to forgive is divine.” That is, man by his very nature is sinful, that is why David in Psalm 51:3 tells us that, “My sin is always before me...” On the other hand, it is in God’s nature to forgive. In view of this that the psalmist of today tells us, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy (Psalm 103).” So, we are called to be like God, slow to anger and rich in mercy. As the reading centers on forgiveness, it reminds us that to have effective prayer, we must forgive our neighbours as God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus.

 

The gospel presents to us a continuity of last Sunday’s reading on Christ’s teaching on reconciliation with those that do wrong to us. In today’s gospel Peter asked, “How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Perhaps, Peter thought he is generous and merciful enough to forgive up to seven times, but Christ made him to understand that FORGIVENESS DOES NOT HAVE LIMITS. We are called to be like God, who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy. Christ also responded to the question of Peter with a parable about the kingdom of heaven compared to a king who wish to settle account with his servants.

 

In this parable, the king portrays the image of a compassionate and gracious God who forgave the first servant that owed him ten thousand talents and demanded same measure of forgiveness to be shown to others. The TEN THOUSAND TALENTS indicate an irredeemable debt, which the servant cannot pay completely, even if he and his family are sold, for the “Top price of a slave fetched about one talent” (Enduring word bible commentary). Yet the king showed mercy on him. In return, he could not show mercy to his fellow servant that owes him HUNDRED DENARII, which made him receive the title of a wicked servant: “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” Exactly what Sirach addresses in the first reading, “Does a man harbours anger against another and seek for healing…? Often times we act like the wicked servant, constantly praying for God’s mercy, favour and healing and not ready to show a little of it to our neighbours. It does not work that way. When we do not forgive our neighbours, the bitterness in us destroys our relationship with God and with others; it destroys our prayer life; it instil unnecessary hatred in us that even the sight of our neighbours triggers our anger; it throws us to self-isolation and every action of our neighbours appears as evil to us.

 

In the words of Bishop Godfrey Onah on last Sunday’s homily, he said: “If we report those who hurts us to Jesus, he will likely tell us to do to them what he himself (Jesus) does for us who hurts him daily… He forgives and redeem us daily.” We too must be like Christ, slow to anger and rich in mercy, we must learn to forgive. We must be like the one who “forgives all our sins, who heals every one of our ills, who redeem our lives from the grave and crowns us with mercy and compassion” (Ps. 103:3-4). This is what St. Paul meant in the second reading when he said, “Whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord and so, we must be like the Lord, who commanded us to love one another as he has loved us (Jn 13:34). Never should a Christian say, “Over my dead body if I forgive him/her.” We should always have it in mind that forgiveness liberates the offender and heals the forgiver. When we forgive, we become like God. To err is human; to forgive is divine. Let us take it as our responsibility today to reconcile with those that have offended us or we have offended. May God help us through Christ our Lord. Amen!

 

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ