August 13
Saints Pontian, Pope,
and Hippolytus, Priest, Martyrs
Gospel:
Matthew 18:21 – 19:1
Today's Gospel: Matthew 18:21 - 19:1
(Parable of the Unforgiving Servant)
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord,
how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven
times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but
seventy times seven. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to
a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the
reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he
could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and
all that he had, and payment to be made. So, the servant fell on his knees,
imploring him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him
the debt.
But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who
owed him a hundred denari; and seizing him by the throat he said, `Pay what you
owe.' So, his fellow servant fell down and besought him, `Have patience with
me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he
should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they
were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had
taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked servant! I
forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had
mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord
delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also, my
heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother
from your heart." Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went
away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
Reflection:
Pontian and Hippolytus have one of the strangest
stories in the early Church. Hippolytus had actually set himself up as a rival
pope, in schism against Pontian and his predecessors, for years. Roman
persecution then sent them both to the same brutal exile in the mines of
Sardinia, where, tradition holds, they reconciled before they died- the pope
and the man who had opposed him, forgiving each other completely, so that the
Church now honors them together on the same feast day.
That's the parable of the unforgiving servant lived out in real life. Two men
who had every reason, by any human accounting, to hold their grudge to the
grave instead found each other in suffering and let it go. Seventy times seven
isn't a math problem. It's a way of saying forgiveness has no counting limit at
all.
Our Lady forgave, too; she stood beneath the men who crucified her Son and
never once, in any account we have, cursed them or wished them ill. If the
Mother of God could stand at the foot of that cross without hatred, the grudges
most of us carry look very small by comparison.
Pontian and Hippolytus needed exile and suffering before they could finally
forgive each other. Don't wait that long.
Who are you still counting offenses against, instead of just letting the
number go? Jesus wants us all to reconcile to one another so that in peace we
unite and worship Him as sisters and brothers together in Christ in joyful
harmony.
Rosary Man
Jim 🌹
Freely
given. Freely shared.
