Children s Liturgy of the Word Why is forgiving so difficult for us? Why would we choose to give so much negative energy to holding on to anger and resentment? When we engage in a tug-of-war with someone we won t forgive, how liberating is it to just let go of the rope, to just let it be and free ourselves from the burden of carrying un-forgiveness? On the other hand, a person who refuses to ask forgiveness is just left holding a rope, the tug-of-war is over and the only tension in the rope is coming from them. Everyone has the capacity to get angry, speak without thinking, and unleash our frustration on others. That s easy! To ask forgiveness and to forgive, even when the pain of the encounter is raw, takes courage and love. Not so easy! In today s parable, the king (God) is compassionate and merciful, but the servant (us) is not able to offer mercy and compassion to someone in debt to him. Jesus reminds us that this is what the kingdom of God is like. There are no limits to God s loving mercy and there can be no limits to our own capacity and ability to offer loving mercy. We are reminded of the greatest commandment from chapter 11 of Matthew s Gospel; Jesus said, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.'
And when we find ourselves locked away in anger and resentment, burying ourselves under the burden of un-forgiveness, remember these words of Jesus in chapter 22 in Matthew s Gospel; 'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.' A small table, green cloth, candle, bible and cross. Loving God, we come to hear your Word on this Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We sign our forehead with the sign of the cross as we open our minds to understand to your Word. We sign our lips with the sign of the cross, help us to speak your truth. We sign our hearts with the sign of the cross, may we carry the Good News of Jesus and share it with everyone we meet. A reading from the book of Sirach If you forgive your friends when they mistreat you, your prayers will be answered and your sins forgiven. If you stay angry with someone, don't expect the Lord to heal you. Don't ask God to forgive you, if you don't have pity on others. God won't forgive you,
if you stay angry at someone. So stop holding grudges and start obeying God. Think about the commands and the promise of God Most High. Then forget about the sins and the ignorance of others. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. R. The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. R. How great is God's love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! How far has the Lord taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west! R. A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans
Brothers and sisters: Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves. Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord. This is because Christ died and rose to life, so that he would be the Lord of the dead and of the living. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia. I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you. Alleluia. A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew Peter came up to the Lord and asked, "How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?" Jesus answered: "Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times! This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like: "One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. As he was doing this, one official was brought in
who owed him fifty million silver coins. But he didn't have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt. "The official got down on his knees and began begging, 'Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!' The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money. "As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, 'Pay me what you owe!' "The man got down on his knees and began begging, 'Have pity on me, and I will pay you back.' But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed. "When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. "Then they told the king what had happened. The king called the first official back in and said, 'You're an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. Don't you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?' "The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. That is how my Father in heaven will treat you,
if you don't forgive each of my followers with all your heart." The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Invite the children to re-tell the parable to you and explore with them what they think is going on. Share with the children that we all can be a bit like the unforgiving servant at times. Ask them why they think it is so hard to forgive someone who has hurt our feelings? Jesus tells us that we can make the world more like the kingdom of God by being forgiving and compassionate like king in the parable. Invite the children to share with you how God loves and forgives without limits. Jesus shows us what God s love is like in the Gospels. Invite the children to share with you how Jesus does that. I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. Leader: Loving God, help us to grow more and more in our faith as we pray; Reader: We pray for the Church, may we be an unlimited source of love and mercy in the world. Lord, hear us. Reader: We pray for those who long for forgiveness and those who stay locked in anger, may they find their way to healing and mercy. Lord, hear us. Reader: We pray for the people in our parish community, may we show each other unlimited mercy and compassion. Lord, hear us. Reader: We pray for people who have died and rest in God s eternal love. We especially remember our deceased family and friends. Lord, hear us. Leader: Loving God, we make our prayers in the name of Jesus, whose yoke is easy and his burden light. Amen. Having been fed at the Table of the Word, we now prepare to share in the celebration of the Eucharist. May we be people who have open and compassionate hearts in the coming week.