The Chosen https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7 – highly recommended (Episode 7 Wed night) Year B (Mark), 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us 7:10-7:25 Jesus feeds 5000 (John 6:1-15) 7:25-7:40 Nephilim -> Noah (Genesis 7-10) 7:40-8:00 Intentions Opening Prayer 7:05-7:10 Lord, you promised that when two or three of us are gathered in your name, you are there, Well, we are here – multiples of 2 or 3, asking your blessings to be poured out upon those whom have asked for your healing tonight. We would also like to ask for your blessings on each and every of us here tonight: Please Lord, bless our lives, bless our families, bless our friends, bless our health, bless our work, And, most of all, bless our relationship with you. Finally, Lord, assist us with the topics we have come to discuss tonight: the forgiveness petition in your prayer, your feeding of the 5000 near Bethsaida, and of our study of the Nephilim and introduction to Noah. We ask for your guidance and wisdom in all these subjects so we can do a better job expanding your kingdom here on earth. Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us through all our trials and temptations
And deliver us from evil. Amen
As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us 7:10-7:25 God knew humans would keep sinning even after being baptized and accepting Christ’s invitation to salvation. So when Jesus died, his first act was to give the apostles to forgive sins in his name. The apostles and their successors cannot forgive sins by themselves, they can only do it in Christ’s name. It’s the same with the consecration of the Eucharist at Mass. The priest is acting in Christ but it is Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who transform the bread and wine.
Q: Why and when is forgiveness through a priest (apostle) necessary? Why: Because thinking often isn’t real enough. Just like thinking you are sorry for offending someone has little value unless and until you articulate it and act on it. When humans articulate their wrongs, apologize, and seek to change their behavior, then it becomes real.
When: Confession to a priest is good for all kinds of soul-cleansing but it is only required annually for serious (mortal) sins. Serious sin has 3 conditions: it is a grave matter and is committed with full knowledge and deliberate intent, by which your soul has lost its grace. Only a priest (apostle) can “loose” this sin and reinstate your condition of grace.
Less serious matters (venial sins) can be forgiven by any of the sacraments, most especially by receiving the Eucharist after reciting a heart-felt Confiteor or Act of Contrition. No further penance is necessary (beyond the prayers of the Church) as long as your internal conversation with God includes your intent – and request for His assistance – to change and improve (without which means one is still attached to his sin). Since Mass ought to be taking place weekly, forgiveness should be of sufficient frequency to keep your soul sparkly. (When the sacraments are not available, one can repeat this activity and dialogue with God for the forgiveness of his/her venial sins).
Let’s return to the 2nd half of our petition: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Q: What is the most important word in this petition to effectuate our own forgiveness?
As. The Lord is saying that we cannot be forgiven if we refuse to forgive others.
Granted, forgiving others if often harder than asking for forgiveness for yourself. Peter struggled with it, asking probably in an exasperated voice, “So how many times must we forgive others, Lord? Huh? Seven?” Jesus responds, “No, Peter. Seven times seventy-seven.” Peter probably fainted. Then Jesus told them a Parable...
Q: Who remembers what parable it was?
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant?
(Mt 18:23-35)
Parable First Note: One Denarius = 1 day’s wage. One Talent = 6,000 denarii (= 6000 days’ wages!). The Master’s servant owes the King 10,000 Talents. How many days’ wages does he owe? (= 6000 x 10,000 = 60,000,000 days’ wages)
Parable Second Note: The King in the story is God and WE are the unforgiving servant, but only if we refuse to forgive.
Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35)
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was unable to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
At this the servant fell on his knees before him. “Be patient with me,” he begged, “and I will pay back everything.”
The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.
Us
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.” But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
So, remember, “Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who have trespassed against us” is not two petitions. It is one, and the first is linked inseparably to the other. Who can expect to receive forgiveness if we are the unforgiving servant in this story?
Besides, when we refuse to forgive, then we are holding onto a grudge, which is like a chain of slavery that deceives us into thinking we are chaining them, but it is chaining us. We need to learn how to let go and give it to God.
Q: What is Jesus really seeking by having us pray this petition?
A relationship with Him. Does it surprise anyone that this relationship employs faith, humility, and self-improvement,
1. Faith – praying/asking is the antidote to our independence from God à faith is economy of the next life
2. Humility1 – by acknowledging our faults, we knock the ego off the throne of control and we open the door to Christ/transformation.
3. Humility2 – as we forgive others who may not deserve it we are channeling Christ who forgives us when we don’t deserve it.
4. Wisdom – wisdom is a big part of the self-improvement. It is the antitheses of self-centeredness. It is anti-self/anti-ego and it only comes from God; from being yoked to Christ.
In this relationship, Christ and the HS are transforming us into citizens of the Kingdom. This is the reason He came here – to take us there. This is what Jesus means when he says, “Turn around, the kingdom of God is at hand!”
Q: If Forgiveness is medicine for the soul, what would Preventative Medicine be?
Preventative forgiveness. Much of forgiveness is repairing deep wounds – healing after the fact. We need this throughout our lives, even as we grow in our relationship with Christ. However, would not the next step in this relationship be learning preventative forgiveness. Before you act with anger or selfish passion, before you speak the words or lift a finger or do what you shouldn’t, say to yourself:
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not…. fill in the blank – want, say, need to be right, take, do this, I shall not, period! Then take a deep breath … for He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me by still waters; He restores my soul.
There’s a good chance you will come through it a different person. And now you also just learned the next petition, “Lead Us Not Into Temptation.” Saying no is all about strengthening our spiritual character with Christ.
Jesus feeds 5000 (John 6:1-15) 7:25-7:40
Context: At this time during Year B (Gospel of Mark), the Church inserts 4 Sundays from the Gospel of John. Part of reason may be that Mark is the shortest Gospel but it’s also because the John doesn’t have his own year (A-Matthew, B-Mark, C-Luke), so his Gospel inserted at key times during every year. So, for the next several Sundays we will be reading from John, specifically John 6. Then we will return to Mark.
Q: John doesn’t usually refer to miracles as miracles, but “signs.” Why would that be important to John? Because the miracles themselves aren’t as important as what they signify, what they point to. This particular “sign” points us backwards to the Manna from Heaven (Exodus/Moses) and forward to the covenant of our salvation at the Last Supper and the Eucharist in Mass.
Q: What do you recall is special about John 6? Much of John 6 is about Jesus’ “Bread of Life Discourse” where he explains, to the dismay of many of his disciples, that HE is the bread of life, the new manna, that we must eat!
Q: The Gospel of John only gives us seven miracles (7!), and two of them are about food. Which two are about food? The water into wine at Cana, and the feeding of 5000 near the Sea of Galilee. Bread and Wine.
John 6 is broken down into four parts: 1) John 6:1-15 Jesus feeds the 5000 – this miracle is a sign whose meaning points both backwards to Exodus and forward… 2) John 6:16-21 Jesus walks on the Sea – this miracle points also points backwards to Exodus (Red Sea) and reveals who Jesus is (I AM) 3) John 6:22-59 The Bread from Heaven – The new manna does more than sustain earthly life; it nourishes one’s life forever. 4) John 6:60-71 The Words of Eternal Live – Jesus is the Bread of Life
Jesus Feeds 5000 John 6:1-15
John 6:1-15
After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages (200 denarii) worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].”
One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet,* the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Q: “The Jewish feast of Passover was near” (and lots of grass to sit on = springtime). What significance would that have on this event?
1) The first Passover represented a new beginning. This prefigures the New Passover, which will be another new beginning for mankind.
2) The Passover was one of the three “pilgrimage feasts,” which required every man of the Covenant to present himself before God at the Temple in Jerusalem. Pilgrims from the Galilee and Jewish communities to the north in Roman occupied Syria would be traveling south to Jerusalem.
Q: Where have you heard, “My Lord makes me lie down in green pastures…He leads me in paths of righteousness…”?
Psalm 23 – The Lord is My Shepherd. Jesus is fulfilling everything!
Q: “Jesus went up on the mountain….” In Scripture, we notice mountain occurrences often involve God. Can you name some others?
1) Mt. Ararat – Noah’s Ark “landed”
2) Mt. Moriah – where Abraham offered up Isaac; also where Solomon build the first Temple (Jerusalem); where Jesus cleansed the Temple.
3) Mt. Sinai – Exodus – Ten Commandments – Old Covenant Word of God
4) Mt. Beatitudes (Mt. 5)
5) Mt. of Transfiguration (Mt. 17)
6) Mt. of Olives (Mt. 24)
7) Eden – Mankind’s first home while in a state of innocence/grace (Gen 1:10, Ezekiel 28:13-16 You were in Eden the Garden of God.....I made you a living creature with outstretched wings, as guardian, you were on the holy mountain of God..."
Q: Why did Jesus test Philip and what was the test?
You may recall in John 1:45, Philip identified Jesus as "the one that Moses and the prophets wrote about." Philip knows his stuff so Jesus' question is to help lead Philip to fully understand the true dimensions of Philip's first revelation. All Philip has to do is to ask Jesus to feed the crowd. Why? Because Philip probably should have realized it by the way Jesus framed the question. In the miraculous feeding of the multitudes in Exodus 16 (in the feeding of the manna and the quails), Moses asks Yahweh a very similar question: "Where am I to find food to give all these people?" At that time, Yahweh accepts Moses' question as a petition and provides food for the children of Israel. Jesus is helping Philip see the connection that the Messiah is the new Moses – and, unlike Moses, this Messiah has the power to do what God did.
Q: “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them…” What does this remind you of?
The Eucharist at the Last Supper and the Mass.
Q: Did anyone deserve this food?
No. Neither did humans deserve what the Last Supper was to accomplish. Neither do we deserve the Eucharist. Pure gift … of life.
Q: Was it miraculous bread?
Yes, as is Jesus’ leaving himself for us in the Eucharist.
Q: The Apostles gathered the leftover fragments and it filled 12 baskets. What could this mean?
The lost tribes of Israel are the fragments that Jesus came to “gather” together again. It is appropriate for the Twelve Apostles to do this because they represent the New Twelve Tribes of the New Covenant. They aptly represent the entire world.
Q: Why did Jesus not allow them to proclaim him the Messiah?
The crowd’s desire for a national, political Messiah was not the plan. It was about the Kingdom of God, and his hour had not come.
Closing Prayer O God, thank You once again for my life for there are so many more times I ought to have failed, or should be dead; yet you have allowed me to continue. I know I can do better, Lord, and I am sorry, for I have sinned against You, against others, and against myself. I detest sin because I know that every selfish act not only wounds me, those I’ve offended, and those who have witnessed it – but also because each sin continues to ripple throughout humanity harming the body of Christ and handicapping the work of the HS, which is the unity of mankind. I humbly request your forgiveness for my self-serving thoughts and behavior, and my missed opportunities to do good. [What unloving, judgmental thoughts, words, and deeds did I commit in this last day? What might I do differently? Lord, is there something I can do to repair my offense?] I firmly resolve with the help of Your grace to sin no more and to avoid or overcome the temptations that lead me away from You. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Lead us through all our trials and temptations
And deliver us from evil. Amen
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