Gospel Thought for Today
13th August Thursday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for the Sisters of Nazareth.
Reflection:
There are seven spiritual works of mercy. While yesterday’s Gospel underscores admonishing sinners, today’s Gospel highlights forgiveness. How often should we forgive? Jesus tells Peter “not seven times but seventy-seven times”. In other words, we ought to forgive completely. Is this doable?
As He was dying on the cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who crucified Him. Jesus could have asked for vengeance, but He pleaded for mercy instead. It can sometimes be difficult to forgive, especially if the offence was caused by someone we love and trusted. And yet, we are called to forgive. Not once, not twice, but many times. A priest once advised that if we find it difficult to forgive, we must think of the Crucified Lord. Jesus suffered the gravest sin one could think of from His people, from His creatures. Despite the pain – physical, emotional, etc. – caused by those He love, He still forgave them. He continues to forgive us every time we tell Him sincerely “I’m sorry”.
- In today’s Gospel, are you the unforgiving servant or the merciful master?
- Look at the crucifix. How does your pain caused by other’s faults compare with that of Jesus?
- “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. What steps are you taking to become more forgiving and less condemning?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. You have been merciful to me through and through. Help me to be merciful too. Amen.
Fraternally,
Pietro
