Similiarity. Sin. Salvation (2023-09-17, Sunday 24th)

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 Homily file for Sept 17, 2023  --  24^th Sunday   --  

● Sirach 27:30 – 28:7 ● Psalm __● Romans 14:7-9 ● Matthew 18:21-35 ●

Title:  Similarity. Sin. Salvation

 [_00__]  This is the parable of the unforgiving servant from Matthew 18:31-35.  (a/k/a Unforgiving Creditor, Ungrateful Servant, Unmerciful Servant, or Wicked Servant) is a parable of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. It is important to forgive others as we are forgiven by God, as illustrated by the negative example of the unforgiving servant.

 Recently, I had an experience of being away in rental vacation house with some family members.  Through the experience at this house – and with a neighbor – I learned something about the forgiveness, shared responsibilities, and God's infinite mercy.

 [_01__]      Part 1. Responsibility and Accountability:   When you rent a vacation home – or an apartment -- you are responsible for taking care of it and returning it in good condition. In this way, our lives are also borrowed property – on loan - from God. We have a responsibility to use the time, gifts, and opportunities He has given us wisely and to treat others with kindness and respect.

 

[_02_]  Part 2. The Parable's Message: The parable of the unforgiving servant underscores that all of us are in debt to God due to our imperfections and sins, regardless of the magnitude of those sins. God's mercy towards us is boundless, and we are expected to extend that same mercy and forgiveness to others. The parable challenges us to reflect on our own inconsistency in withholding forgiveness from others when we have been forgiven so much.

 

 

[_03__]       Part 3. Shared Humanity / Shared Housing:

          Our rental vacation house was right next door to another vacation house. From the moment we arrived, we noticed how similar the 2 houses were.

          And, this similarity was underscored for us when the neighbor – who was in need of some help – asked us to help us move several suitcases and boxes out of her house and to her car.

          We were more than happy to help and this also satisfied the “curiosity” bone in our bodies. We wanted to see if her house – on the inside was anything like our house – on the inside.

          It turned out – when we went through the front door – the houses were exactly the same in layout, appliances, furniture, everything !

          The only thing that was different – perhaps – was that we had different wi-fi passwords. I am convinced that these 2 rentals were built and maintained by the same owner!

          It illustrated to me shared life and gifts we all possess. We are all God's children, and we share a common Owner – God Himself.

Am I always so willing to assist a neighbor and someone in need? Unfortunately..no …but being away on vacation, at rest, being curious to know and learn about my neighbor, I was more than willing to help.

But, do I have the same attitude when an unfamiliar thing or person or – a trespass comes my way?
          Do I recognize – so easily – the struggle that I share with someone else?

Do I recognize my own role to intercede for others before God.

Jesus says pray for your enemies…pray for those who persecute you…pray also for those who sin against you .

[_04__]        Part 4.  Blessed Mother Mary as example.

Is it not true that our Blessed Mother could pray for the sins of all humanity without herself being a sinner. She is an intercessory role.  (Ronald Knox, Pastoral Sermons and Occasional Sermons, “The Forgiveness of God”, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002,  pp. 41-46 )

We are also called pray for ourselves but also intercede for the sins of others, recognizing that we are all part of a larger “parish of Lourdes” … “town of West Orange” … “state of New Jersey” … “country of the United States” in need of God's mercy.

[ADDITION: forgiving someone else is not only an act of charity but also an opportunity to examine my own conscience. Does the sin of another apply to me? Did not the merciful “clean up” of the neighbor’s house – which was identical –help us to prepare to care for our own house? ]

Unconditional Mercy: God's mercy is unconditional; He forgives us without transaction. Our part is to mirror this unconditional love and forgiveness by forgiving others as we have been forgiven. This reflects God's expectation that we extend His grace to our brothers and sisters.

The parable and our personal experience can conveys the message of shared responsibility.

          But, do I have eyes to see and ears to hear?

          Do you?

God’s boundless mercy reminds us of our obligation to forgive others as we have been forgiven and also to pray for them  It serves as a reminder that in a divided world, we are all part of the same human family, and we should extend love, kindness, and forgiveness to one another just as God does for us.

Quote by Ronald Knox from sermon “The Forgiveness of God”:

[ADDITION: “I do not know whether any theologian has ever set himself to answer the question: Did our Lady say the Pater noster? But I suppose we are all inclined to imagine that she did … Herself immaculate, she was a member and in some sense she was the representative of God’s rebellious people; those Scribes and Pharisees, so unforgiving, so much in need of forgiveness, were her fellow countrymen. In that representative capacity, she will have prayed while yet on earth, for the sins of mankind. Don’t let us forget then, that we who need to pray for forgiveness on our own behalf need not be, ought not to be, thinking only of our ourselves. The country we live in, the age we live in, have, God knows, great need to do penance. It is to our Father, not to my Father, that I pray; it is not only my trespasses, but our trespasses that I will remember in my prayer. ]   (Ronald Knox, Pastoral Sermons and Occasional Sermons, “The Forgiveness of God”, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002,  p. 46 )

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