Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 130
17 SEPT 2023 A.D.


Reading 1
Sir 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.


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R. 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. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

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. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

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. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.


Reading 2
Rom 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.


Alleluia
Jn 13:34

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord;
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Mt 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."


Overview of the Gospel:

• Last week’s Gospel was concerned with how to deal with those who persist in unrepentant sin
or error (verses 15-20). Referring to the case where an offending party is repentant (see Luke
17:3-4) and asks forgiveness, Peter asks how often one should forgive them (verse 21). He
suggests seven times—a generous amount compared to the general wisdom that a sin need
not be forgiven after a third or fourth time.

• Jesus answers not just seven—but seventy-seven times (some translations render this
“seventy times seven”, that is, 490 times!). Jesus is making the point that forgiveness to the
repentant should be unlimited. This can be seen as a contrast to the evil Lamach’s boast to
enact unlimited vengeance upon those who crossed him (Genesis 4:24).

• Jesus’ parable about the unforgiving servant likewise deals in unlimited forgiveness of an
astronomical debt. What the New American Bible renders “a huge amount” is literally “10,000
talents”. A talent was worth about 6000 denarii (a denarius was a days wage for a laborer).
Thus the entire debt was 191,000 days wages—an impossible amount to repay!

• Forgiven his debt by his compassionate master, this servant then goes on to refuse a fellow
servant “a much smaller amount” (or, 100 denarii).

• Jesus compares the reaction of the unmerciful servant’s master to how God will deal with
those who not “forgive his brother from his heart” (see Matthew 6:14-15).
[special thanks to Vince Contreras: "Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics."]


"Force yourself, if necessary, to always forgive those who offend you from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them is nothing compared to what God has pardoned you." ~ St. Josemaria Escriva

Thanks!

Always welcome, Brother, tortilla-flats!

PS
Hope y'all are seeing some rain of late.

All our Barn Swallows and Hummingbirds here "took off" this week for warmer climes down your way. It's been in the low 40s at night (prolly high 30s in low-lying valleys and ravines) so they said: "ADIOS!" until next year. I miss seeing and feeding those little critters--all God's Creation--in the barns and gardens.

A bit. Cooling off for sure.