Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading and Gospel both have the theme of forgiveness and mercy. Jesus said that he came to call sinners, and the letter writer to the Hebrews writes that because Jesus lived among us, he understands what we go through in life; therefore, we can ask God for mercy. We are not doomed to live in the mire of our sinfulness. If Jesus can call and choose to be with tax collectors and other despised people, there is hope for us. Forgiveness and hope are connected to each other.
These readings remind me of this year’s Jubilee, in which the theme is hope. In the church, Ordinary Jubilees are celebrated every 25 years (the last one was in 2000). It is a time characterized by special opportunities for grace through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, pilgrimages, and the Jubilee indulgence. We are called to convert, repent and put God in the center of our lives. In his papal bull announcing the Jubilee year, Pope Francis ties forgiveness with hope:
“Forgiveness does not change the past; it cannot change what happened in the past, yet it can allow us to change the future and to live different lives, free from anger, animosity and vindictiveness. Forgiveness makes possible a brighter future, which enables us to look at the past with different eyes,”
Pope Francis also wrote, “This experience of full forgiveness cannot fail to open our hearts and minds to the need to forgive others in turn,” (Spes non confundit, 23). Receiving mercy or “experiencing God’s personal words of forgiveness”* should allow us to be merciful and forgive others. In this light, today’s readings challenge us to reflect on our own lives and the times we have been forgiven. It is a lesson that the scribes in today’s Gospel failed to learn, but the tax collectors and other sinners learned well by following Jesus. May we learn from them and be witnesses to the hope that forgiveness brings.
—Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI
*”Reconciliation.” Jubilee 2025. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/segni-del-giubileo/riconciliazione.html.