Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary
Time A
L-Erbgħa u għoxrin Ħadd matul is-Sena 2017
Missalin A p 374
Sirach 27:30-28:7
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. Could anyone nourish anger against another and
expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like
himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes
wrath, who will forgive his sins? 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.
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.
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb ta' Bin Sirak 27, 30 – 28, 7
Għadab u qilla, dawn ukoll ta' min
jistmerrhom, Min ifittex jitħallas b'idejh, isib ħlasu mingħand il-Mulej, li
jifli sewwa dnubietu. Aħfer il-proxxmu dnubietu, u mbagħad
titlob u dnubietek jinħafrulek. Bniedem irawwem għadab għal ieħor, u
mbagħad se jfittex fejqan mingħand
il-Mulej? Minn bniedem bħalu m'għandux ħniena, u mbagħad se jitlob għal
dnubietu? Jekk bniedem jibqa' mgħaddab, min se jpattilu għal dnubietu? Ftakar
fl-aħħar ta' ħajtek, u ieqaf mill-mibegħda; ftakar fit-taħsir u l-mewt, u oqgħod
għall-kmandamenti. Ftakar fil-kmandamenti u tobgħodx il-proxxmu, ftakar fil-patt
ta' l-Għoli u agħlaq għajnejk għall-offiża. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
R. (8) The Lord
is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.
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. R.
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits. R.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion. R.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes. R.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us. R.
Salm
Responsorjali
Salm 102 (103)
R/ Ħanin u twajjeb il-Mulej.
Bierek, ruħ tiegħi, il-Mulej!
B'qalbi kollha nbierek l-isem qaddis tiegħu.
Bierek, ruħ tiegħi, il-Mulej,
u la tinsiex il-ġid kollu li għamel miegħek. R/
Hu jaħfer dnubietek kollha;
ifejjaq il-mamrd tiegħek kollu;
jifdi lil ħajtek mill-qabar,
iħaddnek bit-tjieba u l-ħniena. R/
Ma joqgħodx jitlewwem magħna,
u anqas jinkorla għal dejjem.
Ma mexiex magħna skond ma ħaqqhom ħtijietna;
ma ħallasniex skond ma ħaqqha ħżunitna. R/
daqskemm huma s-smewwiet 'il fuq mill-art,
hekk hi kbira tjubitu ma' min jibża minnu;
daqs kemm hu mbiegħed il-Lvant mill-Punent,
hekk hu jbiegħed minna ħtijietna. R/
Romans 14:7-9
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.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lir-Rumani 14, 7-9
Ħuti, ħadd minna ma jgħix għalih innifsu, u ħadd ma jmut għalih innifsu. Jekk ngħixu,
ngħixu għall-Mulej; jekk immutu, immutu għall-Mulej. Sew jekk ngħixu, mela, sew
jekk immutu, aħna
tal-Mulej. Kristu għalhekk miet u rxoxota,
biex ikun Sid kemm tal-ħajjin u kemm tal-mejtin. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
Matthew 18:21-35
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."
Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 18, 21-35
F'dak iż-żmiien, Pietru resaq
lejn Ġesu' u qallu: "Mulej, xi kemm-il darba jrid jonqosni hija
biex jiena naħfirlu? Sa seba' darbiet? Wieġbu Ġesu': "Ma ngħidlekx sa seba' darbiet, imma sa sebgħa u sebgħin darba. Għalhekk is-Saltna tas-Smewwiet nistgħu nxebbħuha ma' wieħed
sultan, li ried jagħmel il-kontijiet mal-qaddejja
tiegħu. Kif beda jagħmel dan, ħadulu
quddiemu wieħed li kellu jagħtih għaxart elef talent. Billi ma kellux minn fejn irroddhomlu, is-sinjur
ordna li jinbiegħu hu, martu, uliedu u kull ma kellu, ħalli b'hekk
jitħallas id-dejn. Imma l-qaddej nxteħet quddiemu jitolbu u jgħidlu: "Sinjur,
stabar ftit bija, kollox inroddlok." Is-sinjur ġietu ħasra minn minn
sħabu, li kellu jagħtih mitt dinar;
qabdu minn
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Forgiveness
has Implications for this Life and the Next
A reflection by Fr.
Thomas Rosica, CSB
Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 18:21-35) addresses the necessity of
repentance and repeated forgiveness that are required of those who call
themselves Christian. The Gospel passage can be divided into two major
sections. The first is Peter’s question to Jesus: “Lord, if my brother sins
against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” (18:21-22). This
is followed by Jesus’ response that forgiveness knows no bounds or limits
(18:22). The second section is the parable of the unmerciful servant that Jesus
uses to drive home his point (18:23-34).
There is some similarity between this story in Matthew and
the teaching related in Luke 17:4, but the parable and its ending are unique to
the Matthean account. In examining Matthew’s parable of the king and the
servant closely, we realize that it doesn’t necessarily describe Jesus’
insistence on repeated forgiveness which was the original purpose of Peter’s
question and Jesus’ subsequent reply. The first slave had become vulnerable; he
was weak and worthless before the king as he stood before him begging. He
regains power by demanding repayment of his fellow slave and imprisonment when
he cannot pay. He will not relinquish this power over others. His fellow
servants then go and report him to the king; and yet their action is like that of
the first servant whom they incriminate. In the end, the fellow servants have
behaved in the same way he did; they failed to forgive and demanded punishment.
In the final analysis, the Father’s forgiveness, already given, will be
withdrawn at the final judgment for those who have not imitated his forgiveness
by their own (18:35). Jesus warns that his heavenly Father will give those who
are unforgiving the same treatment that the king accorded the unmerciful
servant.
Lingering questions
What does it mean to forgive? First of all, forgiveness
implies that there is something to forgive. Whether it’s something big or
small, the need for forgiveness means somebody has done something wrong. The
Greek word used for “forgiveness” in today’s parable means “to send away” or
“to make apart.” Forgiveness “sends away” whatever has been keeping people
apart. Anger or feelings of vengeance are “sent away.” By forgiving, one is no
longer under the control of the past sinful act that he/she suffered. We know
that Jesus demands boundless forgiveness of his disciples. Forgiving and
showing mercy, however are not always simple matters.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that those involved will be
reconciled immediately. Nevertheless it begins the healing process and helps to
remove feelings of revenge. To ignore Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness has
serious implications in this life and in the next. Do we really believe that
our eternal destiny and salvation are harmed or hindered by our inability to
forgive while we are on this earth? How do we do justice and show mercy? These
are certainly not easy questions for us to answer and they surface in us a
myriad of emotions which are also present in this parable.
That is why we need to listen closely to the words of Sirach
in today’s first reading (27:30-28:7): “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 neighbour’s injustice; then
when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.”
The lessons of a “crime against humanity”
This time of year offers us an opportunity to reflect deeply
on how we as a Christian community respond to evil in the world, how we forgive
and how we show mercy. On the eleventh day of September 2001, the world stopped
and terror and horror led us into the depths of the mysteries of evil, human
suffering, and death on a great scale. Many asked where God was in the midst of
such devastation and destruction on September 11. Yet with God’s grace we also
experienced the height of human sacrifice and the ability of our brothers and
sisters to manifest heroic love.
The terrorist attacks on Washington ,
D.C. , Pennsylvania ,
and New York City were not just attacks on the United States of America Middle East , their
underlying agenda appeared to be a deep antagonism toward Western culture and
Western institutions. Any simplistic connection between Islam and terrorism
must be rejected. 9/11 presents a challenge to the Church as well as our
government to come to a deeper level of understanding and engagement with
Islam.
The “enemy” in a war against terror is difficult to define,
we have to be careful to avoid that everyone becomes a potential enemy. We have
to avoid the war against terror becoming a war against the other. A society
built on fear and mistrust of the other will never be a peaceful society. Only
when legality, the rule of law, and peaceful coexistence are re-established
will we taste victory.
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