Cycle C -- Homily -- 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time -- 24 July 2022

Cycle C – Homily – 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time – 24 July 2022

Also called the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary I                                           Lectionary II

Genesis 18:20-32                                  Genesis 18:20-32 – with Psalm 138

Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8                   Hosea 1:2-10 – with Psalm 85

Colossians 2:12-14                                Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)

Luke 11:1-13                                         Luke 11:1-13

“Forgive us as we forgive.”  Don’t you just cringe at that command?  I do.  Who wants to be forgiven ONLY as much as we forgive others?  I certainly do not!  I want to be forgiven at least a million times more than I ever forgive anyone.  I just don’t want that constraint on me.  But, that is real and that is the difficult part of this message from Luke in today’s gospel.

Today’s gospel reading starts with one of the several Scriptural versions of the Our Father.  This is probably the most well-known version.  We are all familiar with this prayer.  Most of us could probably say it in our sleep.  Some parts of the prayer are quite easy to work with.  We ask for what we need for the day – our daily bread.  Not a problem!  We all know that we are all a bit greedy and we would all like more than we actually need.  But, we can reconcile that idea of “give us what we need” with our own greed and we can accept that we need to do better about being less materialistic.  And most of us really do try – at least some of the time.  At least we all know intellectually that we can get by with what we need and we don’t really need with all that we want.

But, that other part – “Forgive us as we forgive others” – now that is the very real problem!  When was the last time you wanted to strangle someone (literally or figuratively) because that person had hurt you?  When was the last time you knew someone was lying to you to cover up for his or her own weaknesses?  When was the last time you felt the pain of injustice?  When was the last time your gut ached with an emptiness almost conducive to vomiting because you hurt so badly due to someone else’s weakness?

Oh, I can forgive the transgressions of the meaningless courtesies that are a part of everyday life.  You tipped over my coffee cup.  You are sorry, you are embarrassed, I smile, and I forgive you.  Not a problem.

But, what about the REAL stuff?  How can I forgive that lawsuit?  How can I forgive that job loss because of someone else’s error?  How can I forgive a family cruelty?  How can I forgive that pain so deep in my soul that it will probably never be completely healed?

“Forgive us as we forgive.”  Jesus has got to be kidding, right?  How can I forgive the cruelty and the inhumanity that I have experienced?  How can I forgive the cruelty and the inhumanity the world experiences?

How can I forgive the cruelty and the inhumanity of others when I see suffering in those around me?  How can I forgive the child abuse?  How can I forgive the ravages of sexual and domestic abuse?  How can I forgive the starvation in the world?  How can I forgive the fact that we have enough food in this world to feed everyone but that the corruption and greed of those around us prevent equitable distribution of that food and people do starve?  How can I forgive the horrors of war and of evils far worse than I could ever have imagined?  What about the brothels and the sex slaves – even in our own country?  What about the human trafficking?   How can I forgive all of this?

How can I forgive the sins of others?  The cover-ups?  The mockeries?  The political corruption?  How can I forgive all of that?  How can I forgive the human, financial, animal, and plant loss from oil spills and planetary destruction?  How can I forgive the human components of climate change?  How can I forgive when I center my sense of forgiveness strictly on me?

I want Jesus to forgive me – regardless of whether or not I forgive those who hurt me, regardless of whether or not I forgive those who are cruel to other human beings, or to animals, or to the earth, or to whatever.

But, that is not what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel.  Jesus says we should pray, “Forgive us as we forgive others.”

And we must forgive!  We will be free when we forgive.  Jesus taught us how to forgive.  Jesus also told us what forgiveness is.

Forgiveness is turning over to God the things that are God’s.  That includes all the judgment and the anger and the hurt and the frustration that goes along with whatever I am feeling.  Notice that that does not dismiss the feeling – whatever it is -- but it does discard the judgment.  That does not mean that I should overlook injustice.  That does include the hollowness that cries out from within me.  That includes the emptiness and the aloneness of self and depression.  Those things are God’s – and God’s alone.  All I have to do is ask God to take them from me.  Of course, that is easier said than done.  But, that is part of the command because that is part of forgiveness.  That is part of asking to be forgiven.  To ask to be forgiven is to ask God to take the burden.  The burden is too much for me – but God is quite adept at handling these things, at handling any burden.

And I must turn around and do the same.  Whew!  I must take that burden – that un-forgiveness – and turn it over to God.  Then I will be forgiving and I can ask to be forgiven even as I forgive.

Jesus gave us the prime example.  Look at the cross!  “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus, the man, was dying on the cross and he pleaded for forgiveness for those around him.  He had been put to death – which is far more horrendous than anything most of us will ever experience.  And yet, he prayed that his crucifiers be forgiven.

When we are hurt, when we are wronged, when we suffer at the hands or the emotions of others, can we say, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?”

That is the message of today’s gospel.  “Forgive us as we forgive.”  And how do we forgive?  We forgive by asking God to forgive those who have hurt us or have hurt anyone or anything dear to us; we forgive by letting go of the wrenching pain because we know that God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  And when we release ourselves from the bondage of those nails that Jesus experienced for us, we will be free and we will know that our prayer – “Forgive us as we forgive” – is being answered.

Dr Roberta M Meehan