HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Sep 13, 2026

199

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Jesus Sirach (27:30—28:9)

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.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (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)

He pardons all your iniquities, heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R)

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)

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)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (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.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (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."

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel begins with the Apostle Peter asking Jesus how often he must forgive someone, and then adding "Up to seven times?" To fully understand Peter's question, we must look at the cultural and historical context and the timing of the question. Jesus had just finished teaching His disciples a clear four-step process for dealing with a fellow believer who sins. He taught that if someone sins against them, they should first talk to the person privately one-on-one and point out the fault rather than venting to others or spreading gossip. The primary purpose of confronting someone privately is to win the person over and restore the relationship, rather than to punish, humiliate, or expose them.

Secondly, Jesus said that if a person refuses to listen to private correction, they should take one or two witnesses along with them just as stated in the Book of Deuteronomy (17:6; 19:5). The purpose is to confirm facts truthfully, ensure fairness, and protect individuals from gossip, false accusations, or malicious charges.

Thirdly, Jesus said that if the offender still refuses to listen, they should bring the matter before the broader community or assembly of people who share the same faith and accountability. Finally, Jesus said that if the offender ignores even the community's call to repentance, they should treat the person as an outsider or an unbeliever who is no longer in active spiritual fellowship with the community. It was in this context that Peter asked Jesus about the limits of forgiveness. He asked Jesus if he should forgive an offender up to seven times. Why did Peter ask about forgiving seven times and not 10 times or 20 times.

In the Book of Amos (Chapters 1 and 2), the prophet Amos repeats a phrase, "For three transgressions... and for four, I will not revoke the punishment," to announce God's judgment against surrounding nations, like Damascus, Gaza, and Tyre as well as Judah and Israel, referring to an overflowing measure of sin rather than an exact count of four sins. It means that God is patient and forgives both individuals and nations repeatedly, but judgment arrives when their accumulated sins finally overflow the limit. In the days of Jesus, the Jewish religious leaders interpreted this divine measure literally to human relationships. They taught that an individual was required to extend forgiveness to an offending person three times; on the fourth offense, they were no longer obligated to forgive. This standard is exactly what prompted Peter to ask Jesus, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Peter took the rabbinic limit of three, doubled it, and added one for good measure to reach seven.

By suggesting "seven times" Peter thought that he was more righteous and magnanimous than the standard law of the day. Besides, in biblical and Jewish tradition, the number seven represents completeness, fullness, and perfection, deriving from the foundational belief that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, making the work as finished or perfect. While Peter thought he was matching God's standard of perfection by forgiving someone seven times, Jesus countered by telling him to forgive "seventy times seven" (or seventy-seven times). By multiplying the number, Jesus was not replacing one mathematical limit (7) with another (77 or 490) but rather intentionally reversed an ancient story of vengeance found in the lineage of Cain, the first murderer in the Bible. After Cain killed his brother Abel, he feared retaliation. But God protected him by placing a mark on him and warning a "sevenfold vengeance" on anyone who tried to kill him, Genesis (4:15). In doing so, God wanted to stop endless retaliatory violence and revenge killings and to let human beings know that He alone has the right to enact final judgment and execute vengeance.

Several generations later, Cain's descendant by the name of Lamech boasted to his wives about killing a young man who caused him a minor injury. He proudly claimed, "If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold", Genesis (4:24). By this Lamech meant that if God had protected a murderer like Cain sevenfold, anyone who harmed him would face seventy-sevenfold vengeance. Lamech arrogantly used God's past mercy to Cain to justify his own violent actions. So, when Jesus told Peter to forgive "seventy-seven times" He replaced Lamech's demand for limitless retaliation with a call for limitless forgiveness. In other words, Jesus told His disciples that true forgiveness has no limit and is about losing count rather than keeping a record of wrongs.

To explain further the limitless nature of forgiveness, Jesus told a parable about a king who forgave his servant's enormous, unpayable debt when he asked for his mercy. That same servant then refused to forgive a tiny debt owed to him by a coworker and had that man thrown in prison instead. When the king heard about it, he revoked the unforgiving servant's mercy and handed him over to be tortured and punished until he paid back everything he owed. Jesus ended the parable by saying, "So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgive your brother from your heart", Matthew (18:35). In the parable, the king represents God. The first servant represents humanity. The massive debt stands for the wrong things or sins humans commit against God. The second servant represents our fellow human beings. The small debt represents the minor wrongs or offenses that humans commit against each other. By this parable, Jesus taught that if God has forgiven us of an enormous debt, we must also forgive others from our hearts, or face God's severe judgment. Because the wrongdoings others commit against us are small compared to the immense grace and forgiveness we have received from God.

Forgiveness is not natural to man. As human beings, we find it hard to forgive others because our natural reaction to pain or injury is often anger, self-protection, retaliation, or grudge. Yet, forgiveness is the new spiritual nature of Christians, reflecting the character and likeness of Jesus Christ. While on the cross, Jesus prayed not for Himself, but for those who crucified Him. He said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing", Luke (23:34). Jesus recognized that His enemies acted in spiritual blindness, failing to fully realize that they were executing the Son of God. Even amid agonizing physical pain, Jesus demonstrated supreme love, grace, and an active commitment to mercy over revenge.

So, forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision to let go of justified anger and choose mercy instead of revenge. It is an act of the will and inner strength rather than a spontaneous feeling. Possibly one of the truest statements ever made is, "To err is human, to forgive, divine." It means that making mistakes, having flaws, and failing are natural parts of being human. No one is perfect. But choosing to forgive someone requires a higher, God-like grace and mercy. Forgiveness is purely a divine quality, but we have the capacity to embody it in our daily lives and human relationships, even though it does not come easily.
In the prayer Jesus gave his followers (the Lord's Prayer), He directly ties God's forgiveness and mercy toward us to our willingness to forgive and show mercy to others, Matthew (6:12) and Luke (11:4). In today's gospel, Matthew (18:35), He reinforces the absolute necessity of forgiving others by warning that God the Father will treat us with the same strict judgment if we refuse to forgive others from our hearts. In today's first reading, Numbers (27:30-28:9), the writer of Sirach teaches us that if we forgive others for the wrongs they do to us, God will forgive our sins when we pray, and if we hold onto wrath and refuse mercy to others, we cannot genuinely ask God for our own pardon or healing. In other words, unless we forgive others, we cannot receive forgiveness ourselves.

Today, let us think of the moments, both large and small, where thoughts, words, or actions, have caused harm, distance, or pain - whether committed by others against us, or by us against others. Let us not keep a record of wrongs that others do. Let us not be too harsh or unforgiving of them. Let us not claim that because we are human and not God, we do not have to forgive them. Instead, let us bring these memories into the light of grace, choosing to release the anger, bitterness, resentment, or guilt attached to them. Let us "be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave us", Ephesians (4:32). Let us pray that God may soften our hearts and mold them to be like His, giving us a truly forgiving heart toward one another.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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