HOMILY FOR THE 24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
THEME: FORGIVENESS.
BY: Rev Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya.
Ecclesiasticus 27: 30-28:7
Psalm 102
Romans 14:7-9
Matthew 18:21-35
Dear friends in Christ, our liturgy today picks up from where it left off last week, when Jesus set before us the template for conflict resolution. Today we are invited to reflect on the theme of Forgiveness. To err they say is human, while to forgive is divine. But if we must become as holy and perfect as our heavenly father is holy and perfect (Mt. 5:48), we need to start to cultivate divine attributes. We must begin to learn and practice Forgiveness.
How often must we forgive, seven times? That was the question of Peter to Jesus. To ask this type of question is like asking, how often is it necessary for us to breath fresh air or to drink clean water, seven times? But we know we would get sick and may even die when we do not breathe fresh air or drink clean water. We cannot live in a polluted environment; we cannot breath well if without fresh air. Such is the case when we do not forgive. We become polluted with anger and hate. When we are angry with someone, we cannot breath well. Our hearts palpitate so fast because it is bereft of the right amount and quality of air. We become eventually suffocated with our rancour and ill will.
Forgiveness means giving up, letting go. It has nothing to do with ccondoning bad behaviours. It’s just letting the whole thing go, for our own spiritual and physical health. However, there is one big obstacle to Forgiveness – resentment, of which the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus warns us in the first reading; “Resentment and anger, these are foul things, and both are found with the sinner.” (Eccl. 27:33) similarly elsewhere, St Paul warns against this evil saying “Do not let resentment lead you into sin. The sunset must not find you still angry.” (Eph. 4:26-27)
RELATED: HOMILY FOR THE 24TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
The danger of resentment.
Resentment is the bitter indignation at having been offended or treated unfairly. Resentment is a dangerous and evil emotion that can have negative consequences on our Christian life. Here are some reasons why:
Bitterness: Resentment leads to bitterness, which is characterized by intense cynicism, antagonism, or hostility. This bitterness often cause us to line up our lives in contrast to the injustice we feel, leading to ungratefulness. We cannot be resentful and be grateful at the same time. If we are grateful for the forgiveness we ourselves have received, we would not give room for resentment.
Anger: Resentment also often leads to anger, impairing our ability to make wise decisions, and anger can incite our personal sin even more easily than the sin committed against us, and we become even more unworthy before God.
Unforgiveness: Resentment always interfere with forgiveness, making it hard to accept certain realities, and it causes us to miss the grace of God.
To overcome resentment and let go of bitterness, we must first knowledge the hurt: Hurt tempts us to comply with a variety of unreasonable emotions. We are called to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God forgives us. If we want to be forgiven, we had better be willing to forgive others. Jesus makes us to understand that there should be no limit to the number of times that we should be willing to forgive anyone who offends us. That is really what He meant by that “seventy times seven”.
Above all, let us do good: Don’t let evil get the best of us, but let us conquer evil by doing good.
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