Learning to Forget

 My personal library is filled with books.  Most of them I’ve read cover to cover.  Some of them are used as reference books to look up writings of those superior to me in wisdom, in spirit, and in general people (saints) who are beacons, lighting the way when I allow myself to get bogged down in the world around me.

Of all the books I’ve read, I remember so very little about what was written.

Take for example the writings of Saint Herman.  All of us remember his words depicted on his icon:  Let us make a vow to ourselves, that from this day, from this hour, from this very moment, we shall strive above all else to love God and to fulfill His Holy Will!  Easy, right?

We have no trouble remembering things that “click” in our minds.  Something that grabs our attention and holds on, won’t let go.  But others are all too easily forgotten.

In today’s Gospel, our Lord is directing us not to remember, but to forget!  Jesus today gifts to us the parable of the man who owed ten thousand talents.  Within the parable we find the Master calling for the man to “pay up”!  And the man pleads with the Master, not to forgive the debt, but to be patient, to give him time, and if the Master will do so he promises I will pay you all.

The Master is infinitely wise.  He knows such a repayment is not possible.  But the Master is full of compassion, and so he does not extend the clock, he instead forgives the entire debt!

There is certainly more to the parable in terms of spiritually profitable content.  But I ask the reader to pause here, and to ponder this issue of such a massive debt being forgiven.

We all understand that the Master in the parable is God.  Buried in the teaching offered by our Lord is the message that when God forgives a debt, He no longer remembers it.

Now let’s merge the two natures of the word ‘debt’ and come to understand what Jesus is really teaching us.

We say the Lord’s Prayer multiple times each day.  In our use locally, we say forgive us our trespasses.  The more technically correct wording is forgive us our debts, for a ‘trespass’ is indicative of sin, and a sin is a debt to God.

And so God is shown in the parable to be forgiving of our debts, our sins.  And like the great debt of 10,000 talents which He forgave, He ‘forgot’, He in like manner forgets our sins – when we are faithful to confess them.

We started with a focus on reading, noting how easy it is to forget the content of something we’ve just read.  And we noted that our memory is ‘keyed’ to things that “click” in our minds.  One such thing is when someone does something to harm us.  Forgiving becomes difficult, doesn’t it?  Why?  Because we’re not willing to truly forgive, which means that we must truly forget! 

Jesus ends today’s parable with a stern warning.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.  Understand that in the parable, do to you points back to the Master being angry, and His delivering the servant to the torturers.

Let us all learn to forgive – and to forget!!!

Trust but Verify

 In the Gospel for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Mat 14:22-34), we find the twelve being obedient to their Master.  They’ve just witnessed the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, an event which our Lord made certain that they (the Apostles) were active participants in its completion.  It was the Apostles who carried the multiplied food from the hand of Jesus to the hands of the throngs.

But Jesus sends them away.  “Get into the boat and go to the other side,” He instructs them.

We can only imagine the discussions amongst the twelve as they travel across the sea, given the magnitude of the miracle witnessed by them.

But the world (as it is wont to do) interrupts the spiritual high.  First it’s darkness.  Then it’s waves.  Finally, it’s winds carrying them off course (for the wind was contrary).  I suppose we should add to this the factor of fatigue, for the Apostles had labored all day (getting TO the place where the 5000 were fed), and now they’re laboring into the wee hours of the morning, for it was the fourth watch of the night, which in English means somewhere between 3 and 6AM!!!

It is in this physically spent state fed by the spiritual high that they find a figure moving near the storm-tossed boat.

And we must ask ourselves, “How would I react?”

These men know the Lord, but the world has dulled their physical senses.  They should recognize Him spiritually, but they’re not looking with spiritual eyes.  They’re depending on the physical.  The result is Peter’s “test.”  Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. 

Trust – but verify.

The Lord’s response is one word.  Come.  Again, in obedience, Peter climbs over the boat’s rail, places one foot on the water, and then the other.  All accomplished as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  St. Matthew records, And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

But now, the world interferes – again!

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’

We must ask ourselves, “What changed?  Did the water become ‘less firm’?  Did the wind increase in ferocity?  Were the waves higher?”  We can believe that none of these were the case. 

What changed is Peter’s belief.  The Lord’s command made him bold with respect to the world. But the world shortly made his humanity come to the fore, and he became timid with respect to the Lord, a condition which causes Jesus to chide him, saying, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Peter thought he was testing Jesus by asking Him to call him onto the water.  In the end, it is Jesus Who is testing Peter – and the other eleven – to give them an opportunity to display faith in all they had been party to in the past day.

We too are tested.  Let us ever trust in the Lord to be near to us, as He promised.

Let us never feel the need to verify His faithfulness to us.

It is never a bad prayer to call on the Lord to say, “Save me!”

Unlimited Healing

 Do you believe that I am able to do this?  This is the question that the Savior poses back to two blind men.  They come in hopes of being healed.  But their plea to the Lord does not call out that request explicitly.  Their request is far more broad based than, “Will You heal our blindness?” 

What is their plea, then?

Son of David, have mercy on us!  The Name they use, “Son of David,” indicates a spiritual vision not displayed by the Pharisees.  The title is indicative of their recognition of our Lord’s rightful claim to being labeled “King of the Jews”, and one might go so far as to attach their use of the reference to David as extending to their recognizing Jesus as Messiah.

Once again, we scripturally encounter “The Jesus Prayer”.

But let’s move forward to the healing.

In response to the Lord’s question, Do you believe…, the blind men’s response is simple.  Yes, Lord.  St. Matthew records that Jesus touched their eyes.  But then hear the humility of God the Son.  He does not call attention to Himself with an exclamation such as “I heal you – go in peace.”  Rather the Lord ‘reflects’ the miracle back onto the blind men.  According to your faith let it be to you.  Putting this another way, the Lord is saying, “You say you believe.  Prove your belief by showing that you are healed.

Isn’t this intuitively backwards from how we approach our prayers of need?

When we’re ill, our prayer may take many different forms.  It may begin as did these blind men with the Jesus Prayer.  It may begin with thanksgiving – “Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with adversity, for it places me at Your feet seeking Your intercession.”  It may being with desperation – “Lord, I have no other help but You….”

Whatever form our prayer takes, we offer it and then sit back and wait for the Lord to answer.

I think this might be rooted in some sort of misplaced humility.  “I don’t know the Lord’s will….”  Remember two instances from scripture. 

The first is from the Gospel of St. Mark (9:23-24) where Jesus encounters the man with the epileptic son.  Our Lord’s words?  If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.  And we know the man’s reply.  Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

The second is from the Gospel of St. Luke (5:12-13) where a leper comes to the Lord and says, Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”  St. Luke records that Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.

It is not the Lord Who is slow to answer our prayers.  It is we who are slow to exhibit faith in His providence and His love for us.

Today’s lesson ends with yet more healing.  Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.  Notice this does not say “some disease,” nor even “many diseases.”  The word is EVERY, meaning ALL MANNER of sickness.  Today’s Gospel focuses on blindness, leprosy and demon possession.  But there’s truly no limit to our Lord’s healing.