Power, vs. Powerlessness. Consider the military commander in Jesus’ time: ranks of Roman soldiers could line up and destroy what stood before them, and often, they took just such actions. They had physical power, they had frightening power, and yet they could not stop the powerlessness of the infant, born poorly in a manger in Bethlehem, from changing the world then, and even now, two-thousand years later.

Consider also the power of a story. We often get distracted when we are studying, when we are trying to learn something complex, and yet we quickly engage with a story. We listen to the speaker; when the speaker is telling a story, you will see that even they set down their notes. When they are telling their own story, they don’t need notes; instead their passion informs every word they share, with excitement at the climax, and with whispers at the gentlest times.

Jesus didn’t express power with physical might, but with passion in what He came to teach. It was His Story, His own life being presented. And He taught with stories, with parables. Why? Because His listeners remembered them, and isn’t that the real measure of “teaching,” that what you say is remembered?

Today’s Gospel parable is a story of justice and mercy, and yet when first heard, it seems a story about injustice. Surely those who worked harder and longer should receive a greater reward, a greater payment for their efforts.

Except for Jesus, Whose reward is beyond all cost. No one can purchase or deserve Eternal Life; our humanity is that of a creature, burdened by Original sin, so we simply don’t live perfect lives. Why should we expect the perfection of Eternity with the Perfect Love of Jesus?

We should expect it because of today’s parable. Those who turned to Jesus first, along with those who turn to Him last each earn an undeserved promise of salvation. Only God can make that offer, and only God, through His Only Begotten Son could have purchased that for us.

That, my friends, is Our Story. It was written for us by our perfectly loving God, and only He could make the promise which Jesus fulfilled. Jesus told His story and made it Our Story; He told the story of perfect love with our creation, our pilgrim life on earth as His Creatures.

Now, He asks us to simply repeat the story we know in our hearts with our daily lives. When you live Your Life’s Story, you witness His Love Story.

The readings this weekend seem like déjà vu all over again! Sins abound, but where is the repentance? Sins are felt, but where is mercy and forgiveness?

Every sin reflects a broken relationship. With every sin, we also have two sides, or perspectives. First there is the sinner, the perpetrator, the one we might choose to be angry with, or disappointed in because of “… their failure…”5

The second perspective is that of the one who is hurt; every sin breaks some part of a relationship. Throughout our Church history, the adage has been repeated frequently: “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.”

Yes, love the sinner. Since we are all sinners, we should actually root for this love to be shown to us. We hurt relationships with others when we sin, not least of which is our relationship with God! Our sin doesn’t diminish God in any way, since we have no power over God. It does, however, diminish our own lives. With each sin, each broken relationship, we struggle to avoid that sin again.

When we consider the exchange between Saint Peter and Jesus in this weekend’s Gospel, we need the context. Rabbis at that time would teach that you were only required by God to forgive a sin three times, as found in the Book of the Prophet Amos. Jesus’ answer, however, is radically different: “seventy times seven!” In other words, endless mercy and forgiveness is found in an authentic relationship with God.

There are two versions of this conversation, one that reflects “seventy-seven” and the other “seventy times seven.” Both reflect with certainty a number large enough that our forgiveness must not be limited to a count. Saint Augustine confirmed this in a sermon:“I am bold to say, that if he shall sin seventy-eight times, you should forgive him; yes, and if a hundred; and how often soever he sins against you, forgive him. For if Christ found a thousand sins, yet forgave them all, do not you withdraw your forgiveness.”

I would suggest this is one of those cases where the simplest way to follow Jesus’ teaching is the easiest: stop counting sins. Sure, we hate or dislike all sin, but we must always love the sinner. We are those sinners, perfectly loved by Jesus!

In each of our readings this weekend, we encounter a challenge: do we choose to correct someone with love, or do we choose to enflame the difficulty between us?

The Gospel is not encouraging confrontation, and certainly not revenge! What Jesus is speaking about is conversion of hearts and healing wounded relationships. He instructs: first,“… go and tell him his fault between you and him alone…” Work, peacefully, to repair the hurt. Who was wrong? Well, that is the wrong question, because usually both parties to an argument have some amount of wrong in their words or actions.

When Jesus directs to“… tell the Church…,” He is presuming that there is a relationship of love between the two who are at odds. After all, a shared communion in the Church invites us to a close relationship in our shared baptism. In this sacred bond, we become brothers and sisters, each adopted and chosen by God as His beloved children.

Saint Paul echoes this sentiment in the Second Reading:“Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another…” What Paul is teaching is that we have an obligation to love one another, which is exactly what Jesus’ taught in many places within the Gospels. This message is found also in the First Reading from the Prophet Ezekial:“You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.” Ezekial goes on to state that if we do not warn or work to correct our brothers and sisters, then God will hold us accountable for their loss; he goes on to write that when we do offer correction, even if they ignore it, we will be saved.

Our Responsorial Psalm holds a key to understanding and acting as God has instructed: “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” This is a call for repentance. Biblically, repentance is based on the word “metanoia”, which means to move “beyond our mind.” We cannot extend true repentance and conversion of our own hearts if we don’t change our direction; we must break free of what our minds may suggest – revenge, punishment, anger – and pursue only healing and a repaired relationship with those whom we love … remembering that we are called to love everyone: friend, family, and even enemies.

Who can remember what happened in Chapter 4 of Matthew’s Gospel? I’ll give you a hint: That action concludes with Jesus pronouncing, “Be gone, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10). After being tempted in the desert, where the Devil twice asks, “If you are the Son of God …”

Last week Peter declared that Jesus was, in fact, the Christ, and the Son of God. And this week, Jesus admonishes Peter: “Get behind Me, Satan.” But the punch line this week carries the full weight of the issue: “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

This naturally invites a question: are we conditioned to see the world as human beings do, or as God does? What is our lens?

The world spends billions of dollars on advertising each year, looking to sway our purchases, and to direct our actions, often toward things that are unnecessary, dangerous, or immoral. Yes, billions! One finance study estimates that for this year, between $500 and $511 billion will be spent in the U.S. alone on advertising, trying to convince you that you need to spend your hard-earned dollars on their products.

That is “… thinking as humans do…”

When we think as God does, we develop a clearer understanding of what and how we invest ourselves in each moment. What amount we spend is less important than who we spend our time with each day, and how we spend that time. Are we modeling the Gospel values that we each know, and which we try but often fail to follow, or are we convinced by the advertising about who we should be? Do you let the values of the world that are often broken direct your actions, or will you strive each day to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd? The decision is not new in our time, nor even in Jesus’ time; Joshua declared when faced with challenges around 1270 BC: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” But the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods” (Joshua 24: 15-16).

So the question of whom we serve has been disputed for thousands of years: 3,300 years ago for Joshua; 2,000 years ago for Peter. And now, today for you and me. 

Let’s not simply say “Yes” to Jesus while in church, but with every moment of our lives. Let us return His gift of Free Will into the service of God, and choose, every day, to serve the values of the Gospel and not the false attractions of this world.