September 12 |
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24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mt 18/21-35 |
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| Background: The Gospel today continues instruction for the conflict-ridden members of the early Catholic community. Today it recalls an incident recounted in the tradition (which may have had many more Jesus/Peter stories than are available to us today) in which Peter again plays the straight man for Jesus. The Lord has told them that God is forgiving Love - the essence of the revelation of Jesus and of the Christian message. So if God is forgiving love we must forgive too, right? All right says Peter, setting Jesus up, how many times? Seven? Poor Peter lost again. Just as there are no limits to God's forgiveness, so there must be no limits to our forgiveness. One has to say that this theme has not always been honored in the Christian community. |
read the padre |
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Story: Once upon a time there were two brothers who began fighting as soon as the younger one was able to walk, like so many little boys do. They continued to fight all through school about sports, about grades, about friends, about homework and, as time went on, about girls. One of them kept careful records of each fight and assigned won/loss decisions on each one. The other refused to do so because he said one score-keeper was enough. They always made up after each fight until they both fell in love with the same girl. They had a big knock-down drag-out fight over her. Moreover they refused to make up. Both accused the other of treachery. Both claimed the young woman as their love. She was not pleased with them. I am NOT an object to fight over, she announced. I've forgiven you often enough said brother #1; you stole her from me. I'll never forgive you again said brother #2 you stole her from me. You are a pair of idjids said the young woman. I don't want to see either of you ever again. So she fell in love with another young man who, she said, was a grown up and not a four year old. She married him. At her wedding the two brothers finally made up and decided that they should begin to act like adults and forgive one another. |
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