24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

FORGIVENESS: FROM OUR MEASURE TO GOD’S MEASURE

My brothers and sisters, there are certain words in our Christian faith that are  beautiful to hear but difficult to live. Forgiveness is one of them.

All of us know what it means to be hurt. Sometimes the wound comes from a stranger, but very often the deepest wounds come from those closest to us a spouse, a child, a parent, a brother or sister, a friend, a coworker, or even someone in our parish community. A harsh word, a betrayal, a broken promise, or years of disappointment can remain in the heart for a very long time.

This Sunday, God does not ignore those wounds. Instead, He meets us in them and invites us to discover a way forward through His mercy. Sirach speaks honestly about anger: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” What a human image! Sometimes we “hug” our anger because we do not know what else to do with our pain. We replay what happened. We remember what was said. We imagine what we should have said. And without realizing it, the person who hurt us continues to live inside our thoughts and our hearts.

God is not asking us to deny our pain. He is asking us not to allow that pain to become the prison in which we live.  Sirach therefore asks us to remember the mercy we ourselves need from God. If I come before God asking, “Lord,  forgive me,” then little by little, His mercy must also change the way I look at the person who has hurt me.

Saint Paul takes us deeper: “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” Our lives belong to God including the wounded parts of our lives. We do not have to carry every hurt by ourselves. We can bring our anger, disappointment, sadness, and relationships to the Lord. Sometimes the beginning of forgiveness is simply being able to pray: “Lord, I am still hurt. I am not ready yet, but I do not want this anger to control my heart. Help me.” That prayer itself can be the beginning of healing.
 

In the gospel today, Peter comes to Jesus with a question that perhaps many of us have asked: “How often must I  forgive?” Peter wants to know the limit. Jesus responds, “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” In other words,  Jesus is telling Peter to stop counting. Christian forgiveness begins not with what another person deserves, but with what we ourselves have received from God.

We forgive because we have been forgiven.  We show mercy because we live by God’s mercy.  But we should also be clear: forgiveness does not mean pretending nothing happened. It does not mean remaining in an abusive or destructive situation. It does not mean that trust must immediately be restored. Forgiveness and  reconciliation are related, but they are not always the same. Reconciliation requires two people willing to rebuild a  relationship. Forgiveness can begin with one heart choosing not to allow hatred to have the final word. And  sometimes forgiveness takes time. We may have to place the same wound before God again and again. That does not mean we have failed. Sometimes forgiveness is not a single moment; it is a journey with God.

 My brothers and sisters, God is inviting us today to move from our measure to His measure from counting offenses to remembering mercy, from holding onto resentment to opening our hands, and from carrying our wounds alone to placing them in the hands of Christ. We do not forgive because the wound was small. We forgive because God’s mercy is greater than our wounds.

May God continue to give us the grace we need, increase our faith, and open our hearts so that we may forgive as He forgives us with mercy, patience, and love. May He heal the wounds we carry, free us from resentment, and give us the courage to choose forgiveness, even when it is difficult. Amen.

Rev. Yvans Jazon

Pastor

2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal

By supporting the 2026 South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you are supporting many programs and ministries of the Diocese of Camden and Saints Peter & Paul Parish. These ministries serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the hungry and challenged. When you support the South Jersey Catholic Ministries Appeal, you offer comfort to those in your parish, your community, and throughout the entire Diocese.

This year’s theme, “Missionaries of Mercy,” supports the social and spiritual needs of our 62 parishes and 29 schools, with social services, hospital chaplaincy, youth & teen campus ministries, Catholic education, pastoral care initiatives, vocations, and faith formation programs. 

Together we make a stronger community with faith, compassion, and mercy.

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