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September 11, 2005
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 11, 2005
Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:9, Psalm 103, Romans 14: 7-9,
Matthew 18: 21-35
Everything costs something. That’s a basic truth of life that we can easily see these days. Everything costs something.
I wonder how often we consider the cost of our sins. When we look at our lives, past sins that we have committed, we can see the cost sometimes very clearly in the faces of the people whom we have hurt. Seeing the betrayal and feeling the loss of trust in the faces of those whom we have sinned against can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes it might not be so obvious, though, especially if we think we “have gotten away with it.” Those sins that we think we have well hidden might not tickle our conscience so much as the ones in which we have been caught. But every time we sin, we break something, and the cost of fixing it is high.
When we sin, we break our baptismal covenant with God, the covenant that we renew in our baptismal promises, “Do you reject sin and the glamour of evil?” “Do you refuse to be mastered by sin?” We promise that we do reject sin and refuse to be sin’s slaves. Every sin, no matter how secret we may think it is, is seen by God and is felt by God. We cannot imagine the infinite depth of sorrow that our God feels when we betray him in sin.
Our sins cost. What do we think we can give to make up for the sins we’ve committed? The correct answer is nothing. We can do nothing to make up for the sins we’ve committed, for the hurt that we’ve caused God and our neighbors. The good news is we don’t have to.
Jesus came. He lived his life healing us. He died his death to pay the price. The debt we owe for our sins is paid by one who never sinned. This is a gift, total gift, from a God who is infinitely generous. This is the good news, the Gospel. Our sins have been forgiven; the debt has been paid.
Now, the only thing that God has asked of us is to forgive others as we have been forgiven. The love of God makes this possible for us. We are forgiven. We should be forgiving.
What wrongs has someone done to me that I still need to let go?
Can we be more like God in the way that we forgive others?
List of all Reflections:| Posted | Title |
| 10/31/2012 | November 4, 2012 - Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 10/24/2012 | October 28, 2012-Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 10/17/2012 | October 21, 2012-Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 02/29/2012 | Second Sunday of Lent | | 01/31/2012 | | | 01/18/2012 | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 08/24/2010 | August 29th | | 08/17/2010 | August 22, 2010 | | 08/12/2010 | Assumption of Mary | | 05/25/2009 | Pentecost
The Birthday of the Church | | 05/29/2008 | Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 10/16/2006 | 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 10/13/2006 | 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 06/28/2006 | Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | | 01/23/2006 | January 29th, 2006 | | 01/16/2006 | January 22nd, 2006 | | 01/09/2006 | January 15th, 2006 | | 01/02/2006 | Epiphany | | 12/28/2005 | New Years Day | | 11/21/2005 | First Sunday of Advent | | 11/14/2005 | Solemnity of Christ the King | | 11/09/2005 | November 13, 2005 | | 09/27/2005 | October 2, 2005 | | 09/19/2005 | September 25, 2005 | | 09/13/2005 | September 18, 2005 | | 09/05/2005 | September 11, 2005 | | 08/31/2005 | September 4, 2005 | | 07/11/2005 | July 17, 2005 | | 07/07/2005 | July 10, 2005 | | 07/06/2005 | July 3, 2005 | | 06/21/2005 | June 26, 2005 | | 06/14/2005 | June 19th, 2005 | | 05/23/2005 | Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | | 05/16/2005 | Holy Trinity Sunday | | 05/09/2005 | Pentecost | | 05/05/2005 | May 8, 2005 | | 04/26/2005 | May 1st, 2005 | | 04/18/2005 | Fifth Sunday of Easter | | 04/11/2005 | Fourth Sunday of Easter | | 04/06/2005 | THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER | | 04/06/2005 | Divine Mercy Sunday | | 04/05/2005 | Holy Thursday Homily | | 03/27/2005 | EASTER | | 03/25/2005 | The Passion of John | | 03/14/2005 | PALM SUNDAY | | 03/07/2005 | FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT | | 02/28/2005 | Fourth Sunday of Lent | | 02/23/2005 | Third Sunday of Lent | | 02/14/2005 | Second Sunday of Lent | | 02/10/2005 | First Sunday of Lent | | 02/07/2005 | Ash Wednesday | | 01/31/2005 | Feb. 6, 2005 | | 01/24/2005 | January 30th, 2005 | | 01/17/2005 | January 23, 2005 | | 01/10/2005 | January 16, 2005 | | 01/05/2005 | January 9th, 2005 | | 01/02/2005 | January 2, 2005 | | 12/28/2004 | Mary, Mother of God - Jan. 1st | | 12/26/2004 | Feast of the Holy Family | | 12/22/2004 | Christmas | | 12/13/2004 | Fourth Sunday of Advent
Readings: Isaiah 7:10-14. Psalm 24: 1-6.
Romans 1:1-7. Matthew 1:18-24. | | 12/06/2004 | Third Sunday of Advent
Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10. Psalm 146:6-10.
James 5:7-10. Matthew 11:2-11.
| | 12/01/2004 | Second Sunday of Advent
Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10. Psalm 72, 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17.
Romans 15:4-9. Matthew 3: 1-12 | | 11/29/2004 | First Sunday of Advent
Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5. Psalm 122:1-9.
Romans 13:11-14. Matthew 24:37-44. | | 11/22/2004 | The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
2 Samuel 5:1-3, Psalm 122:1-5,
Colossians 1:12-20, Luke 23:35-43 |
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