Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings contain two contradictory messages. On the one hand the prophet Ezekiel condemns and denounces the people of Judah for their rebellious life and predicts their exile into Babylon. On the other hand, the gospel reading communicates the necessity of forgiveness – not just seven times but seventy-seven times (to be read seventy times seven). How shall we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory readings? The answer lies in the fact that these two passages describe two different relationships. Ezekiel was referring to the relationship between God and Judah and Jesus was referring to our relationship with one another. The first relationship is a relationship between unequals – God and human beings. Jesus was talking about two equals – the relationship between one human being and another person. God is all holy and human beings are totally vulnerable to sin. Even from a superficial level we can understand that to forgive or not, condemn or not, save or not is God’s prerogative. God has a choice in the matter. God does not have to forgive us. Fortunately, God does so but only in God’s infinite goodness and love. God does not even have to save us. God does so in God’s mercy and compassion.
The bottom line is this – if God who is all holy can forgive us weaklings, how much should we weaklings forgive other weaklings. Resentment, anger, revenge, hatred, unforgiveness are all serious sins. God, on the other hand, who is all holy forgives us. So we also must forgive on another. May be one of the things we do today is to make a list of people who we need to treat like God treats us. If God has forgiven us, let us forgive them. If God has loved us, so too let us love them. If God has saved us, let us too continue the saving work of Christ.
This is not the case when we think about our relationship with one another. All of us are equally sinful in the eyes of God. So for us to condemn, refuse to forgive, and judge another is to assume the status of God. Only God has that authority, power and moral superiority to do that. We on the other hand, aware of our own vulnerabilities can only forgive one another. Jesus is saying that our capacity to forgive must match our capacity for sin – which in limitless. Moreover, if we must merit God’s forgiveness we must allow others to be worthy of meriting our forgiveness. One is dependent on the other.
- Fr. Satish Joseph