Welcome Back to Banquet of the Word!
Join us every week for background on this Sunday readings.
Our mission is simple:
We want to help everyone in “pew-land” get more out of mass.
Because it’s fun to feel smart about scripture.
Today’s key theme is “Forgiveness.”
Fun Fact:
The seven books of scripture that are categorized as “Wisdom Literature” include Wisdom of Solomon, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Song of Songs, Job and Proverbs.
Fun Facts about the book of Sirach (today’s 1st reading):
- Sirach was written ~200 years before Christ. God’s chosen people were ruled by the Greeks at that time, in another sort of Exile. Without a king of their own, and the presence of God no longer in the temple, the people felt lost.
- The people felt God was far away from them. (I’ve felt this way before, have you?) So what did they do? They sought signs of God’s presence, and direction on how to recognize him, how to live as godly people. Sirach is a “how to” book so we can do the same now. Time to dig in.
Sirach: 27:30-28:7
(The 1st Reading is Old Testament. It always links to the Gospel.)
The book of Sirach answers the question, “How do I live wisely?”
In last week’s reading, we were challenged to “speak up” on God’s behalf. Ths week we hear advice on how to live wisely. So many excellent pieces are here and suitable for prayerful contemplation before the blessed Sacrament, or just self-reflection while driving. A portion here (bolded phrases foreshadow our gospel):
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.
Who in your life are you working to forgive?
Do you expect forgiveness from God but hold back from giving it to others?
Ask God to help you model his mercy.
Responsorial psalm 103:
The Lord is Kind and Merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion.
(The Psalm is a response” to what we heard in the 1st Reading)
This is my favorite psalm, in fact I am often found humming it around the house often with a lot of…”pep” shall we say? (I’m not kidding when I say that my kids know to choose this for my funeral … guaranteed smiles.)
The most simple of messages from this well-known psalm. The Lord is Kind. And He is Ever-Merciful. No matter how far we stray or for how long, He will always, always ALWAYS take us back. For He is Kind and Merciful, slow to anger and rich – overflowing actually – in compassion. How can we model these traits this week?
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Romans 14: 7-9
(The 2nd reading is usually from Paul’s letters. Speaks to how the early church was built after Christ’s death and resurrection).
This is a reading of juxtapositions and parallelisms. The word “live” or “life” is here 6 times. We’ll hear the word “dies” or “dead” 5 times. (Mathematically then, life wins!)
Some scholars believe this is Paul re-wording an old Christian hymn of his day that re-lives Christ’s death and resurrection, “Lives for oneself…dies for oneself…live for the Lord…die for the Lord.”
It also reminds us what happens to us at baptism – we die for ourselves and begin to live for the Lord…defend the Lord…follow the Lord and His ways.
My favorite verse: “For if we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord.”
All for the glory of God – sounds like a win-win to me.
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Matthew 18: 21-35
(The Gospel is the highest point of the Liturgy of the Word. That’s why we stand.
We are about to hear from and be instructed by Christ Himself.)
Today it’s all about forgiveness. A long but familiar gospel. Quick recap:
- A king forgives an excessive amount to a slave who begs forgiveness.
- Then a contrasting, puzzling piece: The slave – whose enormous debt was just forgiven – turns around and refuses to forgive another man’s much smaller debt.
- The king calls back the unforgiving servant (whom the king had forgiven) and punishes him for lacking, to quote the psalm, “kindness and mercy.”
Recall that last week we heard “next steps” on how to forgive someone. Talk to them first, take it to caring friends who can help, and finally The Church.
Today Jesus underscores the need for us to model the forgiveness and mercy He offers us. The abundant, overflowing, boundless forgiveness – he will always forgive!! BUT. We must seek that forgiveness with our hearts, not our ulterior motives (e.g. of not having to repay the debt).
Final Thought: This gospel took me to the most famous of all prayers, The Our Father. “…and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Did you know that the key words to this commonly misunderstood line are “as we“? The “as we” does not mean “while;” it means “in keeping with the way that” (or “in light of the way that”).
- Rephrased: “Forgive us our trespasses in keeping with the way that we forgive those who trespass against us.”
- Simpler still: Forgive me my sins in light of the way that I forgive others.
The point is, if we cannot forgive one another we have no room to expect God to forgive us. That view of God can become dangerously presumptive: “Oh He’ll forgive me – He’s God! That’s what He promises and that’s what He does.”
Dangerous – sound the alarm.
How can we hold grudges on earth – sometimes for decades – and then expect Him to blot out some of our darkest moments, ushering us happily into Heaven?
He commands us to forgive as He does. We have a lifetime to practice this.
Who’s your first subject this week? How can you seek God in prayer for this “spiritual project?” As always, He’s at the ready to help you.
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
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 your brother from your heart.”
Banquet of the Word 