Collect for 24th Sunday Year A

 

COLLECT SERIES

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

COLLECT

The Collect for 24th Sunday Ordinary Time reads as follows

Looks upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things,

And, that we may feel the working of your mercy,

Grant that we may serve You with all our heart.

Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In making this prayer tangible the following reflection questions emerged:

1. What do you reflect upon when you consider God as Creator?
2. How do you feel when you think of God the Creator looking upon me?
3. What does God’s mercy mean to me?
4. What does it mean to serve God will all my heart?
5. What one change will I make in my life this coming week to commit to serving God with all my heart?

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION  Mt 18:21-35.

The passage Matthew 18:21-35 is commonly referred to as the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. The parable is one of the many teachings of Jesus that appears in the New Testament and is particularly important in the Christian tradition for its focus on forgiveness and mercy. While interpretations can vary, from a Catholic perspective, this parable could serve as a vivid illustration of the boundless mercy of God and the corresponding call for humans to extend that mercy to others.

The Parable Summary

In the parable, Peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive someone who sins against him, suggesting "as many as seven times?" Jesus responds, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times," before launching into the parable.  We may sometimes need to ask ourselves the same question and hear again the response of Jesus of our obligation to forgive others.

In the parable, a servant owes a king a large debt he cannot pay. It would have been the equivalent of 10 life times worth of wages.  The king initially orders that the servant be sold along with his family and possessions to pay off the debt. However, when the servant begs for mercy, the king forgives the debt entirely. It is important to note the words that the servant uses’ Give me time and I will pay the debt’. He would not have been able to pay the debt at all but by cancelling the debt the king gives him back his life.

This same servant then goes out and encounters another servant who owes him a much smaller sum. It says in the gospel a denarii.  This would have been the equivalent of 3 months wages from one year.  If a person earns $100,000 a year, then let us be realistic, 30,000 to be owed is still substantial.  However, when it is compared with 10 life times worth of wages, then it is obviously a much smaller debt. 

Despite having just been shown incredible mercy, the first servant has the second servant thrown into prison until he can pay off the debt. When the king hears of this, he is furious and reinstates the first servant's original debt, saying, "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"

So What does this parable say to us.

Divine Mercy

One central theme is the divine forgiveness and mercy that God extends to all people, despite the "debt" of sin. In the sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), Catholics believe they experience this forgiveness firsthand, having their sins forgiven through the grace of Jesus Christ. God's mercy is so boundless that no sin is too great for Him to forgive.  It is definitely a huge debt that we owe Jesus since He died so that we could be saved.  That is how much love Jesus has for every person on earth. He gave His life suffering the cruellest possible death available at that time- crucifixion.

Call to Forgiveness

The parable also serves as a moral and spiritual call to action. Just as God is infinitely merciful, so too should we be forgiving towards one another. This is not just a suggestion, but an obligation. The Our Father prayer, central to Christian liturgy, even contains the line "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," reinforcing the mutual relationship between receiving and giving forgiveness.

Justice and Mercy

The king in the parable is both just and merciful. Initially, he seeks to enforce the law by collecting the debt, but upon seeing the servant's repentance, he opts for mercy. This duality reflects the nature of God as portrayed in Catholic teaching: a being of infinite justice but also of boundless mercy.

The Danger of Unforgiveness

The fate of the unforgiving servant serves as a cautionary tale. The unforgiving servant is not punished because he has debts but because having been forgiven so much, he refused to extend that same forgiveness to others. It is a sobering reminder to us Catholics about the serious implications of withholding forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21-35 can be seen as a theological and ethical cornerstone within Catholic teaching on mercy, forgiveness, and the infinite love of God. It challenges us to extend the same mercy and forgiveness to others that they themselves have received from God, integrating these virtues into all aspects of life.