“As Far as the East Is from the West”: God’s Mercy and Forgiveness
Readings and Virtual Homily for September 13, 2026, Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Caracas Accounting; Loved by St. Clement; We're Having a Heatwave; September Schedule
Readings for Mass this week:
Sirach 27:30 -- 28:7
Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12
Romans 14:7-9
Matthew 18:21-35
Dear Friends and Family:
Once again the readings this Sunday have to do with the business of forgiveness, the focus this week being on the requirement that we, as disciples, forgive generously and well. The Gospel passage is well-known, and pretty much self-explanatory. I will look at it, of course, but it is the richness of the teachings in the first reading and the psalm that I really want to focus on, in this virtual homily.
Just so that we are sure to touch upon it the Gospel passage is the parable of the ungrateful and unforgiving servant. This servant owed his master a debt he could never pay. When the master demanded payment, the servant threw himself on his master's mercy and received it -- received it in astonishing abundance. The entire debt was canceled.
Meeting up shortly after that with a fellow servant who owed him a very small amount, the first servant demanded that he pay it back immediately and in full. The second servant threw himself on the first servant's mercy only to discover that there was none to be had: the first servant, whose huge debt had been entirely forgiven, had the servant who owed him such a small amount thrown into prison.
Other servants observed this and went to the master with the news. The master then summoned the ungrateful servant and reprimanded him, calling him wicked, and reminding him of the mercy he himself had received. Then he had the first servant thrown into prison until the enormous debt should be paid.
I don't see a whole lot of need to go into explanations here. The parable's moral seems to me to be self-evident. Mercy should beget mercy. And we are called to practice mercy, just as God "practices" it with us. (It is truer to say that God's mercy is an aspect of God's very being, but we are not going to go further with that here.)
Let's take a deeper look, rather, at the first reading and the psalm, on this matter of forgiveness and mercy.
The passage from Sirach warns us that "wrath and anger" (such as that exhibited by the unforgiving servant) are "abominations" (vs. 30). Not only will the vengeful "face the Lord's vengeance," but "indeed, he remembers their sins in detail" (vs. 1). The passage urges us to be merciful with one another, to forgive each other's faults, even as God forgives us. "Can one refuse mercy to a sinner like oneself, yet seek pardon for one's own sins?" (vs. 4).
The passage issues a reminder of our ultimate destiny, and the need to prepare for a merciful judgment. "Remember your last days and set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin!....Remember the covenant of the Most High and overlook faults" (vss. 6-7).
The psalm is positively joyous in its declarations of God's mercies and abounding forgiveness. "Bless the Lord my soul….who pardons all your sins and heals all your ills. Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with mercy and compassion" (vss. 2-5).
Psalm 103 continues
He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
he has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us. (vss. 9-12)
This is some of the most elevated language in Scripture on the subject of God's mercy and it sets a high bar for us, where forgiving others is concerned.
Forgiveness is a subject on which I can speak with some real authority. I could illustrate my points here with a personal experience or two (or three or four...I have got a real track record, at this point, where forgiveness issues are concerned). Suffice it to say that...
I have said this before. I said some of it just last week. Forgiveness is deeper than the emotions. The analogy I use with my sophomores is that of a hurricane on the surface of the Atlantic. Powerful waves, driving rain, fierce winds. Deal with the hurricane on the surface, because you have to. No good, denying your emotions, and especially if you have been badly treated and are angry about it. As I said last week, you have a right to that anger. It must be acknowledged and accepted and worked through and just so you know, I have had a couple of forgiveness issues in my life where I was several years dealing with the anger.
But far below the surface of the Atlantic is the Gulf Stream. It flows steadily, confidently, purposefully, undisturbed by the storms on the surface. The Gulf Stream is, in the analogy, your deepest self, your best self, your character. That is where the decision to forgive is made. It is unaffected by events on the surface. You can forgive down there at the level of the Gulf Stream, and still be dealing with the wind and the waves at the surface. I know. I have done it. Several times.
So...Caracas. I am STILL getting thank-yous out to those many of you who have sent me money to help my Caraquenos and their families, following the earthquakes. To date, I have received almost $7000 from you, to assist my young guys and their families. Add to that what I have sent on my own, and as I mentioned last e-mail, that amount is substantially more than it would have been in a normal summer, because of extra work and my anniversary celebrations -- and well, trust me, we have met the needs of my Caraquenos and their families, both in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and for the autumn.
Three of my "boys" were out of work, following the earthquakes. Their places of employment (a country club, two high-end restaurants) were damaged and repairs had to be made before they could re-open. There is no safety net in Venezuela for the working class, in a situation such as this. The safety net my young men found themselves falling safely into was the one spread by your generosity. They were out of work for several weeks, one for two full months. Their families were spared genuine hardship because of your generosity.
A perhaps even more inspirational story is that of the family (parents, three children aged four to fourteen, plus grandma) who were out of their home because of the earthquake. Cracks had appeared in the outer walls of their multi-story apartment block. Along with many of their co-residents they pitched a tent in the park across the big and busy Caracas boulevard on which the building stands. A line of port-a-potties was delivered by the city government, while the national government scouted possibilities for housing displaced people in camp-like facilities. That might have been their life, this summer.
Thanks to you, just a week after the earthquakes this family was able to rent an AirBnB not far from their neighborhood. It is spacious, clean, comfortable and safe. They are there until they can move back into their apartment; the hoped for date was September 15, but has been moved to October. Whether October or even November, this family has what they need to stay where they are, until their building is declared habitable.
It is hard to say what seven thousand dollars translates to, in today's Venezuela. It is many times over that amount, in terms of American spending power. Many times. It goes a very long way. We made a difference, this summer, for good people who truly needed whatever help they could get. Your efforts on their behalf might be termed mercy, in fact. Mercy is, as I often observe, love, generosity, goodness coupled with power. All ten of my young Venezuelans and their families counted, there are close to one hundred people in Caracas who have breathed a lot easier this summer -- because of you.
Gracias Gracias Gracias.
It is Tuesday evening as I am writing this; I started it last night, thinking I would need to have it done early, given my aunt's funeral services in Los Angeles. My cousins were aiming for late week. But they were only able to meet with the mortuary folks this morning, owing to the holiday, and given the number of folks expected to be coming from all across the country, the date was set for next Monday. I opted to finish the homily tonight regardless, as it was in robust shape, and after all, the last two got sent late.
This is the second death in the family since I arrived at St. Clement over a decade ago. My sister Flo died four years ago and I saw then how this parish responds to grief. It is nothing less than love in action. Just as they did with my sister, my parishioners have simply surrounded me, since hearing of my aunt's death -- surrounded me and supported me. Their prayers accompanying Aunt Rita in her transition give me real consolation and joy. I mean, I believe in the communion of saints. Aunt Rita is aware, as she enters eternity, of my wonderful, loving and faith-filled parishioners, sending her grace upon grace.
Hope your summer is wrapping up well. On the subject of which -- how very Bay Area -- the hottest temperatures of the year are only now beginning to appear! I was out with friends in Pleasanton last Friday evening and we were remarking on what a pleasant summer it has been, in terms of temperatures. We all agreed we might expect to get hit with heat several times, in the next six or eight weeks. We got that right!
That'll do it for this one. Take good care. God bless.
Fr. Brawn
The rest of the schedule for September:
Sunday, September 13
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF PLEASANTON (Seton Campus)
11 AM (English)
Sunday, September 20
630 PM (English)
Sunday, September 27
8 AM (English)
Saturday, October 3
5 PM (English)
Sunday, October 4
630 PM (English)
Weekday Masses (all 8 AM and English, except where noted)
Sat., 12th
Tue., 15th (7 PM/Spanish)
Mon., 21st
Fri,. 25th
Sat., 26th
Mon., 28th
Fri., October 2
The reasons for the scarcity of weekend Masses the rest of this month are several. We have a missionary priest visiting this coming weekend, and Fr. Jesus has assigned him to all six Masses. I am giving a retreat (on Franciscan Spirituality, in this year when we are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis) at St. Clare Retreat Center in Soquel, the weekend of the 18-20. The last weekend of the month is our parish festival.
We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the parish, and to increase the sense of the weekend's specialness, Fr. Jesus invited several priests associated with St. Clement to come back that weekend and celebrate a Mass. I love that idea and I am sure the priests who will be with us that weekend do, as well. This is an anniversary we really want to mark.