Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

It is a coincidence that our first reading today and the Gospel are about vengeance and forgiveness. This occurs shortly after the anniversary of the events of 9/11. Vengeance was the cause of that tragedy. But our first reading tells us that “Wrath and anger are hateful things.” And, “the vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance.”

If we belong to Christ, then we desire to be schooled by his word. We know that word to be one of forgiveness. But forgiveness must be placed in its proper context. That context is, as our Lord teaches us, how his heavenly Father acts as arbiter over human affairs. “So, will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

Vengeance says, “I must get even!” But human ‘getting even’ does not work the justice of God – God’s ‘getting even.’
We cannot deny that this is a deep dilemma for us humans. There are great evils in the world. Where is the justice? Why, so often, does justice seem to go unaccomplished.

But we must not, as it were, shoot ourselves in the foot! We must recognize the evil of pride which so easily inhabits our hearts. The real evil in vengeance is pride: the human being seeks to play God! Only God knows how “to get even.” We do not know. We did not make the universe and we do not understand evil. Its place is in God’s hands.

Surely, “getting back” can be very tempting. It’s easy to play God. We can sit in our armchairs, read the newspaper, or watch TV and allow all kinds of ‘they-should-do’ thoughts to come into our heads and impede our hearts.

But our task is to look into our hearts, our most intimate companions. They are open to God telling us how to live or to the world’s and Satan’s ways. Are we listening to God’s call to be men and women of prayer and patience right in our own homes or at work?

The bishop of Oran, Algeria, Blessed Pierre Claverie, O.P., listened to God’s Word. He tried to live in harmony with the Muslims of his diocese. He was assassinated on August 1, 1996. This is what he said:

     Brothers and sisters, behold our mission. It is as vast as our life: it will take prayer, dialogue,
     speech, action. . . We will pursue this adventure together, letting God lead our pilgrimage.

Each of us has to choose as we go through life. Am I going to live in trust of my heavenly Father and act as he would have me do, as Jesus did? Or, am I going to play God and attempt to get even. Am I going to hang on to hurts and injustices and hug them tightly to my chest? Jesus gave Himself for us and to us, for the forgiveness of sins.

Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB