The Righteous are the Merciful

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25:31-46.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

---

Reflection
We have come to the end of the Liturgical Year. The Solemnity of Christ the King sums up the whole Cycle A with the vision of Jesus as Judge. In this vision presented to us by Jesus who refers to Himself as the Son of Man, at the end of times He will judge everyone according to his life.

If the end of the world brings with it the final judgement, then Jesus has already given us the cheat sheet. The questions are already leaked ahead of time. All of these questions refer to the acts of mercy that the Church has taught us. The final judgement then is all about measuring how merciful we all have been. More than doing good deeds, it also tests how much our disposition and our characters have grown to be like God, the Father of mercies. How God-like are we? The King of kings will weigh the harmony of our being and our doing, of our spirit and our actions, of who we are inside that flows to the outside.

The curious thing in the story is that those who were deemed worthy of heaven were surprised at the judgement handed down to them. When they did the good that they have done, their intentions were not to gain heaven but to serve the needy person before them. The righteous are those that saw concrete and real suffering and addressed it. They were not blinded by ambitions of glory and heaven. Mercy is the purest expression of love - it extends itself without expecting anything in return.

Intents and Investments

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25:14-30.
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.

After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.'
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"

---

Reflection
Jesus parable this Sunday is easily understood in different times and periods of history. It is a common thing for any society when a person entrusts his property to others. For us today, we see this in investors and stock market capitalists who pour in their cash to earn more or in simple households who keep their savings in the bank expecting an interest from the time deposit. What is baffling in the parable however is the small detail that the master never gave an explicit instruction to his servants to invest the talents he has given them. As the story tells it, it seems it was left to the servants to interpret the gesture.

God has entrusted to us so much. The gift of our persons, who we are, is a gift that long desires to be opened, unwrapped, and explored. Despite the years, we still surprise ourselves of the hidden treasures God has hidden inside each of us. The gift of family and friends, of community, and of the Church also reveals to us God's unending providence. The gift of nature and creation reminds us how artistic God is. All of these are the talents that we have received.

Like the servants in the parable, we are stewards of the talents we have received. We might differ in abilities but God left it to us how to interpret His gesture of gratuitousness. It takes prayer and entering into the mind of God to understand His intentions for us. The return of the master poses one question: "what have we done to the gifts and talents we have received?" The last detail in the parable puts the investment into perspective. While the master did expect that his properties will grow at the hands of the servants, he never took them back but allowed the servants to keep the principal plus the interest and even more. God does not see us as production machines. Rather, He gives gifts that we might grow rich in them, and at the end of this age, share in the fullness of His joy.

The Source of True Forgiveness

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18:21-35.
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
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 your brother from your heart."

---

Reflection
We could all understand where Peter was coming from. He knows that as a disciple of the Lord he must forgive his brothers. He wants Jesus to know this and he wants to impress his Master. His proposal was already exceptional. To "forgive seven times" is to forgive in a complete and perfect way. After all, in Jewish numerology and symbolism, the number seven stands as the perfect number.

There was however a fundamental flaw in Peter's proposal. He still had a measure in mind.  He thought he was already generous in his own standards and that is where the flaw is. The standard was set on Peter's preference. If forgiveness were a marathon, Peter knew he could run a 100k but was proposing to run 200k for Jesus. Yet for Jesus, forgiveness is just running until you reach the horizon - it should have no measure, no limits.

Jesus shows us through the parable that a Christian's forgiveness is a reflection of his love, a love for the Father and his neighbor. That love must reflect the first love - the love of God for us all, one that is without measure and without limits. So, forgiveness must be without measure, without limits. Sure, we are but humans whose patience sometimes run out and whose expectations always needs to be met. But as a Christian, we are to love with the love of God. I love not because of who I am but because of how God has loved me. I forgive not because I can but because I have been forgiven. God is the measure and the limit of Christian love and forgiveness.