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| “Crossing the |
Reading 1: Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
The LORD said to Joshua,
“Today I will begin to exalt
you in the sight of all Israel
that they may know I am with
you, as I was with Moses.
Now command the priests
carrying the ark of the covenant
to come to a halt in the Jordan
when you reach the edge of
the waters.”
So Joshua said to the
children of Israel
“Come here and listen to the
words of the LORD, your God.
This is how you will know
that there is a living God in your midst,
who at your approach will
dispossess the Canaanites.
The ark of the covenant of
the LORD of the whole earth
will precede you into the Jordan
When the soles of the feet of
the priests carrying the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of the whole earth,
touch the water of the Jordan
for the water flowing down
from upstream will halt in a solid bank.”
The people struck their tents
to cross the Jordan
with the priests carrying the
ark of the covenant ahead of them.
No sooner had these priestly
bearers of the ark
waded into the waters at the
edge of the Jordan
which overflows all its banks
during the entire season of
the harvest,
than the waters flowing from
upstream halted,
backing up in a solid mass
for a very great distance indeed,
from Adam, a city in the
direction of Zarethan;
while those flowing
downstream toward the Salt
Sea
disappeared entirely.
Thus the people crossed over
opposite Jericho
While all Israel
the priests carrying the ark
of the covenant of the LORD
remained motionless on dry
ground in the bed of the Jordan
until the whole nation had
completed the passage.
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Commentary on Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17
The leadership of the tribes of
Israel has been passed on to Joshua by Moses. This passage begins the next
phase in the history of God’s interaction with the descendants of Abraham. Here
we find Joshua instructed by God to demonstrate that he (the Lord God) would
precede them as he had promised. The miraculous damming of the Jordan River is
the sign chosen to mark this transition; it reprises the crossing of the Red
Sea.
CCC: Jos 3:10 2112
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. Alleluia!
When Israel came forth from Egypt
the house of Jacob from a
people of alien tongue,
R. Alleluia!
The sea beheld and fled;
The mountains skipped like
rams,
the hills like the lambs of
the flock.
R. Alleluia!
Why is it, O sea, that you
flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
You mountains, that you skip
like rams?
You hills, like the lambs of
the flock?
R. Alleluia!
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Commentary on Ps 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
The final strophe
of this psalm of thanksgiving recalls the miracle of the crossing of the Jordan
(Joshua 3:13ff). This event, like other salvific involvement by God, is
celebrated in song by King David’s line.
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Gospel: Matthew 18:21–19:1
Peter approached Jesus and
asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins
against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to
you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of
heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle
accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before
him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying
it back,
his master ordered him to be
sold,
along with his wife, his
children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell
down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I
will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the
master of that servant
let him go and forgave him
the loan.
When that servant had left,
he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller
amount.
He seized him and started to
choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his
fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I
will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow
servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants
saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and
reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and
said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire
debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity
on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master
handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the
whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do
to you,
unless each of you forgives
his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these
words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of
Judea across the Jordan
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Commentary on Mt 18:21–19:1
This selection from the Gospel from
St. Matthew provides a teaching moment, as Jesus explains how his followers
must forgive others. Peter asks Jesus how many times a person who sins must be
forgiven. Jesus responds that forgiveness must be without limits. Jesus uses
Hebrew numerology in this illustration. Seven in Hebrew terms is the perfect or
complete number. So when Peter asks “…how often must I forgive him? As many
as seven times?” he is asking if he must forgive him completely. The metaphor
the Lord uses in reply “seventy times seven” would imply an absolute
forgiveness. "Jesus contrasts the behavior expected of the apostles with
the boundless vengeance of Lamech in Genesis 4:24 (LXX),
where the same figures of 'seven' and 'seventy times seven' are contrasted (CCC
982)."[4]
Jesus illustrates the requirement
for Christian forgiveness with the parable of the unmerciful servant. As in
many of the parables, the one who does what is wrong, in this case failing to
show mercy and forgiveness even when it was shown to him, suffers a much worse
fate in the final judgment.
CCC: Mt 18:21-22 982,
2227, 2845; Mt 18:23-35 2843; Mt
19:1-12 2364
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Reflection:
The theme of forgiveness is
central for us as we hear Jesus telling Peter that absolute and complete
forgiveness is required of those who wish to claim discipleship. The first reading from Joshua has a symbol of
God’s forgiveness. Did you catch
it? Just as God’s people walked through
the Red Sea on dry land as a symbol of God’s deliverance from sin, they also
follow Joshua across the Jordan, once more on dry land; passing through the
waters and being set free (as we have been in Baptism, passing through the
waters to be set from sin).
Peter’s question is more
direct: “Lord, if my brother sins against
me, how often must I forgive him?” is answered by Jesus first symbolically
(seventy times seven) and then emphatically, using the parable of the
unmerciful servant. The moral of this
parable is quite clear to us. If God
will forgive us the sins we have committed against him, how can we hold those
(especially our brothers and sisters) accountable for sins we perceive that
they have committed against us?
As we hear time and time
again in the Gospel we profess, forgiveness is the great healer. When we forgive from the heart as Jesus
commands, we are ourselves healed.
The worst hurt in the world
is often caused by those we love most dearly.
When we perceive that they have wronged us, because of that close
relationship, we hold them accountable for their actions. If there is no recognition by the other that
reconciliation is required of them, that debt of atonement builds. It grows and develops first into resentment of
the debt and then into anger and even hatred which is self-destructive and
leads to even greater sin.
Forgiveness washes away the
gulf that is opened by perceived wrongs.
Again, especially in close relationships, forgiveness by the one wronged
often will open the way for reconciliation and a strengthening of the bond of
love that exists.
Today we praise the Lord for
his gift of forgiveness and ask him to help us as we try to emulate him.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “Crossing the Jordan ”
by Gerard Hoet and C. Huibertz, Published 1728
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, CA. pp. 8
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