17 September 2023 – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

by Rev Fr Arul Mariadass, OFM

When you look at your coins, we know in Malaysia we have coins – 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen and so on, one side will give the value of the coin, 5 sen or whatever. The other side we will have symbols, maybe bunga raya or parliament house or whatever it is. If one side of the coin is missing, say it is blank, the coin has no value. The same thing in our life as Christians, we have also must have these two in our lives, that is mercy and forgiveness.

We always look at God, how God was merciful towards the people, how God forgives the people in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, in the Gospels, we see how Jesus is proclaiming the Good News – forgiveness and also showing them. When He was healing people, He was so merciful towards them. Even in some places, He said ‘Go, your sins are forgiven.’ That means you have healing.

So when we look at our First Reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus and also known as the book of Sirach. It is now in the Catholic Bible that we have one of the seven books. This book was written by Joshua Ben Sirach. It was in Hebrew and it was translated into Greek and the book was really telling the Jewish people how to live the way. And his word is very clearly in talking about forgiveness, talking about living the communion which is in today’s reading, the First Reading.

So when we forgive others and when we ask forgiveness from God, definitely God will forgive us.

While in the Second Reading from Paul’s letter to the Christian community in the city of Rome, he is emphasising on whether we are alive or dead, our life should be Christ-centred. Emphasising that Christ should be in our lives. That is why everyone of us have to ask whether I am living my life according to Christ’s teaching. Our focus must be Christ.

While in the Gospel, we heard from Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 18. Some will say this chapter 18 is a Gospel where it reminds us of how to live our Christian life. Community spirit. So in this chapter, there in today’s reading, Peter asked Jesus: ‘How often I must forgive my brother if he wrongs me?’ Maybe his own brother, Andrew. He asked: ‘Seven times?’ Jesus says: No, seventy seven times.’ We must know seventy means seven times ten times seven. Seventy seven times.

For the Hebrews, for the Israelis, the number ‘7’ is like a perfect number. Number ’10’ is a completion. So it is true and very important. That is why Jesus said seventy seven time. It means every time.

Last week’s reading, if you look at it, talking about forgiveness or correcting or what we call fraternal correcting, fraternal correction where we correct other people who have done something wrong. At the same time we are correcting ourselves. It is not like a holier than thou. It is not that idea but when we correct others, at the same time we have to correct ourselves. There is one professor who said that when you point a finger to someone, remember three other fingers are pointing back at you. So that is how we need to correct.

So today’s Reading is talking about being merciful and forgiving. As I said earlier, in the Old Testament we see how God forgives the people, bringing them to Him and also showing His mercy. So from mercy flows the forgiveness. Even now Jesus hangs on the cross, He was merciful and He forgives people who crucified Him. 

As a follower of Christ, are we doing that? As a person we need to ask ourselves.

Every time we say The Lord’s Prayer, Our Father, in the prayer we say forgive our sins as we forgives those who sin against us. So forgiveness is very important. Forgiveness brings healing. You know when Jesus say: ‘Go, your sins are forgiven’ to the man he healed, his sins were forgiven.

There is a story, real happening in US many years ago. There was a lady who has a problem with fingers. All her fingers cannot open and so on. So she went for a prayer service. When she went there, after that she was talking with people and they asked her how and what happened. Then they asked ‘Do you have anyone that you will never forgive?’. She said: ‘Yes’ and she mentioned her in-laws. When they were suggesting to her why not she takes the initiative to forgive them, she will get healing. It really happened. She called them and they were staying a thousand kilometres away in the East Coast, she was in the other side of US. So she said sorry and asked for forgiveness. A few months later her fingers can close and open.

So it is what we say healing. Not only physical healing. We always look for physical healing. The inner healing is also very important. 

So when we talk about mercy and forgiveness, we have to have this idea in us. Are we forgiving others? Sometimes we go for confession but still keeping the grudges in the heart. Sometimes we say ‘Remember ten years ago on this day, at this place, at this moment, where these people were sitting, you told me this. I cannot forget.’ We say this although we go to confession.

So the very important part is we have to let go. Let go of these things so that we become closer to God and also be an example to others.

You know when talking about forgiveness, there are three types of forgiveness:-
1. Forgiveness from God. God can forgive you anytime.
2. The second forgiveness is we are asking others to forgive us or we forgive others.
3. The third one is forgiving ownself. That is very difficult.

Why I am telling this is because we sometimes think about what we have done when we are young, although gone to confession, mentioned, God forgives, but we still keep it. We are claiming or thinking or reflecting on that and we are still telling ourselves I am living in sin.

Whenever we go for confession, it is like when Jesus said ‘Come to me all who are overburdened and I will give you rest.’ Confession is like you go for shower. When you come out from the shower you feel very fresh and clean. It is something like that.

When we go for confession, it doesn’t mean okay I confess my sins and then I continue sinning. It is not that. We take initiative to overcome the sin. And we also fall in other sins. Yes, becuase we are weak. That is why we need God. So when every time we are talking about God’s mercy, we must see the forgiveness. If God did in the Old Testament, and Jesus Christ also did in the New Testament, in the Gospel, why not we?

So with Christ we can do everything. So let us focus on this mercy and forgiveness which is the two sides of a coin.

So let us pause for a while and ask God to strengthen us.

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