Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress": Aug. 17

August 17, 2017: Thursday, 19th week, Ordinary Time

See 10 connections with today?
Legend below

Listen

Come over into Canaan land/ Byers: lyrics+ (1st reading)

Psalm 114: Spring/ Silver

God, how can we forgive?/ Duck: lyrics+ (gospel)

Forgive our sins as we forgive/ Herklots: about (gospel)

Look it up/ Presley, Orrall: country song with verse about how hard it is for us to forgive ("forgiveness... It's what Jesus has in store for you, but I don't...") This cover avoids the original's bad language. Lyrics+ (gospel)

Prayer of St. Francis/ Temple: typical, brighter, saxy (Vanacore's version?) [but it's not St. Francis's text] (gospel)

I then shall live/ Gaither, Sibelius (end of Finlandia protest); lyrics (gospel)

Song of reconciliation/ Ashton: lyrics (gospel)

The reconciliation song/ Chapman (gospel)

If you believe and I believe/ Zimbabwe trad. (gospel) [love the steel drum]

Read

Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17 Lord to Joshua: “I'll exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you. Command the priests to stop in the Jordan when you reach the edge.” Joshua to Israelites: “Come listen to the Lord. This is how you'll know God is in your midst. The ark of the covenant will precede you. When the priests' feet touch water, it'll cease to flow.” The people started to cross, with the priests carrying the ark; then the waters halted. The people crossed over. The priests remained motionless till the nation had crossed.

Ps 114:1-6 "Alleluia!" When Israel came forth from Egypt, Judah became his sanctuary. The sea fled, Jordan turned back, and mountains and hills skipped. Why?....

Mt 18:21-19:1 Peter / Jesus: “If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? Seven times?” / “Not 7 but 77. The Kingdom is like a king who settled with his servants. He ordered sold a debtor and his family and property, but the debtor begged, ‘Be patient; I'll repay you!’ Moved, he let him go and forgave the loan. The servant then seized one who owed him much less: ‘Pay what you owe.’ / ‘Be patient; I'll repay you.’ But he refused. His fellow servants, disturbed, reported him; his master said: ‘Wicked servant! I forgave your debt when you begged me, but you didn't take pity on your servant!’ He handed him over to torturers. So will my Father do to you unless you forgive.”

Reflect

Fr. Joel Henson homily video: Forgive from the heart...

Creighton: The amounts of money are exaggerated: the first man owes over $10K; the one in debt to him, $15. I refuse forgiveness not because of the injurious act, but the relationship I have with the one doing the act. The degree of forgiveness reveals the degree of my relationship. We know our good friends reverence us, so the relationship heals more easily, but when even a lesser injury disrespects us, it's harder to forgive. The master respected the first servant’s genuineness, but the servant showed no respect for his fellow debtor.

Parable of the unmerciful servant

When I have an increased sense of self-reverence, self-respect, self-acceptance, I'm less likely to be hurt. Forgiving indicates our respecting, seeing something in injurers beyond their acts. My being hurt this time could remind me of other injuries of disrespect I don't let go of. Maybe I'm just injuring myself. The parable might also be about forgiving myself, being forgiven by others, and praying with the dignity of the One who forgives me and invites me to receive the dignity of being his servant.

One Bread, One Body: Our God is living, present, and active; he shows his love for us in tangible ways. For three days, God seemed dead, but then he rose. Jesus is uniquely "the Living One." "Fear not. I am the First and the Last.... Once I was dead but now I live, forever." "He was crucified out of weakness but lives by God's power. We are weak in him but live with him by God's power in us." "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him." Jesus is Life. May he, the Father, and the Spirit live in you.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant/ van Hemessen

Passionist: To be a Christian is to live a forgiven and forgiving life, extend to others the mercy God extends to us. Jesus responds to Peter's question with the parable of the unforgiving servant saved by mercy who refuses to show mercy to his fellow servant. Since neither servant could repay his debt, their future depended on forgiveness. Both begged for mercy, but the one who received it threw his fellow servant into prison and winds up imprisoned himself. Pope Francis called the Year of Mercy to remind us that every Christian, indeed every human being, has a mission of mercy. God has been merciful to us; we're called to be sacraments of God’s love in the world. God’s mercy makes all of us equal and all one. To withhold mercy is not only unjust; it's an insult to God.

Parable of the wicked servant
Fetti

DailyScripture.net: "Lord, how often shall I forgive?": Amos speaks of God forgiving transgression three times but warns that God may not revoke punishment the fourth. When Peter asked, he offered an answer he thought Jesus would like, but Jesus made it clear there's no limit. He drove the lesson home with the debtors parable. The man forgiven his enormous debt (more than a king's ransom) couldn't forgive his neighbor a small debt (about 1/100,000 of his own). No offense of another compares with my debt to God. Jesus forgave a debt we couldn't repay on our own. As God has shown mercy in pardoning our sins, we must show mercy to all who have offended us. Forgiving is a sacred duty. We must let go of resentments, grievances, or ill will. Pray for the grace and strength to forgive as God has forgiven you.

Mercy is the flip side of God's justice; without mercy, justice is cold. Mercy follows and perfects justice; it seasons it as salt meat. Showing mercy without addressing the wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is license, not mercy. "Mercy will flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice: transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes a man-eating weed, more dangerous because it's still called by the same name as the mountain variety" (C. S. Lewis).

Pope Francis Amoris Lætitia capsule: Expanding fruitfulness

When a couple can't have children, it can be a cause of suffering for them, though marriage remains a whole manner and communion of life, valuable and indissoluble. Motherhood is expressed in more ways than biologically.

I encourage those who can't have children to expand their marital love by adopting, offering a family to someone who lacks one. We must insist that legislation help facilitate adoption, especially of unwanted children, to prevent abortion or abandonment. Those who accept someone unconditionally and gratuitously become channels of God’s love. “Even if your mother forgets you, I will not forget you.”

Adoption and foster care express marital fruitfulness, not just in cases of infertility. They can manifest an important aspect of parenting and child rearing, make people aware that children are persons who need acceptance, love, and care. The child's best interests must underlie the decision. Legislation and state control must prevent trafficking of children. (V:178-80)