[media presentation below] GospelThink Tuesday, March 14 MATTHEW 18:21-35 I tell you that you must learn to forgive anyone that harms you. Prayerthoughts a. “Seven” is a perfect number in the Bible, therefore signifying “infinitely many.” Is there  anyone that I have not forgiven at the present time? b. Am I willing to forgive people who “owe” me, as for example money that I have loaned them, etc.? c. We often lack consistency in our criticism. Often we are doing the very things that we accuse others of. Think of an example in my life. d. Do you believe that the king in Jesus’ parable acted the way he should have?   e. We know from other places in Scripture that our God does not act the way the king did  in Jesus’s story. Why do you think Jesus told the story this way? f. The last verse is a “scare tactic” that Jesus often uses in his discourses. God is always kind and merciful. But the evangelist wants those who read the words of Jesus to know that we deserve the punishment that the king gave if we do not forgive others completely. g. My prayerthoughts…   Today I will determine a person that I have not remembered for a while, and make an action of reconciliation (either by prayer or direct words) with that person. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  FORGIVENESS  + This Gospel contains one of the most explicit statements in Sacred Scripture:           So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother [and sister] from your heart.           – forgiveness is an absolute necessity for the spiritual life                      – it is the way to follow the Lord unreservedly as Azariah promised in the first reading           – the use of perfect numbers by both Peter and Jesus in the opening of the Gospel implies infinitely many times or simply “always” + As one analyzes the Gospel,           – the one thing that is universal to all of us because we are human beings is the lack of consistency                      – we accuse and condemn others of doing things that we ourselves are doing,                                – and we have to beg forgiveness for that           – that pattern is one to study: we ask for forgiveness, but we are not ready to forgive + We all have a tendency to criticize others for whatever—either we do it by word or most probably more often in our thoughts           – because we all tend to compare ourselves in one way or another           – it is important to study our own involvement in those areas of criticism                      – for example, criticizing someone for the way he/she raises kids                                – the chances are that the same criticism could be leveled legitimately at us                      – or criticizing the way another family operates                                – the chances are that we should be looking at our own families  +If we want to attack these tendencies within ourselves:           1 – there must be a willingness to admit the possibility of wrong                      – one of the real problems with human nature is the lack of coming to our senses as we talked of the Prodigal Son           2 – there must be a desire to study our behavior                      – and that takes time                                – quality time with the Scriptures, the Gospels every day                                          – asking ourselves the difficult questions of the Gospel: Lord what are you trying to tell me                                                    – here today: is there someone that I am refusing to forgive                                                               – someone that I am holding a grudge toward, etc. + To grow spiritually causes pain because it means that we have to go to the very heart of the problem—us! MEDIA PRESENTATION Movie: “The Woman King” — beginning session A JUST WAR The Gospel MATTHEW 5:38-39 Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”

Gospelthink: Offer no resistance to one who is evil against you.

In the West African kingdom of Dahomey in 1832, the Oyo empire joined forces with the Mahi, another empire in the region, and raided Dahomey villages to obtain slaves. General Nanisca, leader of the all-female group of warriors, the Agojie, liberated the Dahomean women who were abducted by slavers from the Oyo empire. This provoked King Ghezo of Dahomey to prepare for an all-out war with the Oyo. Nanisca begins to train a new generation of warriors to join the Agojie to help in the fight. Among these warriors is Nawi, a strong-willed girl who was offered by her father to the king after refusing to marry. Unknown to Nanisca, Nawi is actually her daughter. The fight was successful, but Nawi was captured during the fight.

Perhaps the doctrine of Jesus that humankind has neglected the most is Jesus’s directive to offer no resistance to one who is evil toward us. If we followed it, there would be no war and only peace. How do we as Christian nations justify any war? How do we follow Jesus’s directive to Peter when Jesus was arrested to put away his sword? How do we explain the fact that Christian men and women, supposedly the hands of Jesus on earth, sponsored the Crusades which attempted to obtain holy results by evil war? In all honesty, we can’t. The only answer we can give is the answer of a just war, that is, the legitimate killing of an unjust aggressor, but it is still killing no matter what nuance we assign to it. In the movie “The Woman King,” King Ghezo leads the Dahomean people including the Agojie to war against the Oyo empire. It fits the definition of a just war since the Oyo and the Mahi who had joined the Oyo were invading the Dahomean empire to obtain slaves who were then sold to slave traders. What can an interested Christian learn from the actions of an active war involving one’s own country? In our modern situation, there is the possibility of a “conscientious objector,” but for the most part, as in the movie, people either go to war or be punished for disobedience. And war will involve “kill or be killed” in direct opposition to Jesus’s doctrine. Be that as it may, the lesson of the movie must revolve around doing the best that one can given the evil situation of the war. It involves working on behalf of those who have been hurt in the conflict, or at the very least, praying for those who are committing the evil.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, we live in a world that often brings about the killing of innocent people. Help us with a true understanding of Your Son’s difficult doctrine to offer no resistance to those who show evil against us. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT Theme: Even though the Christian doctrine of “offering no resistance to evil” should govern Christians, sometimes there is need to conduct a “just war,” and we must engage. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (session: approximately 63 minutes) 1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why? 2. What would happen if all the Christians of the world would honestly observe Jesus’s words, “Offer no resistance to one who is evil”? 3. The meditation says that we justify the fact that we are resisting those who are evil to us by the “just war” theory? Do you think that it is a “correct” way of carrying out of the Lord’s words? Yes or no and why? 4. Do you think that the wars in which your country has fought, were all “just wars”? Yes or no and why? 5. In the world in which we live, “slavery” exists in some form. Give an example.  Practically, what can I do about it? 6. What do you think of the fact that some people become “conscientious objectors” rather than go to war? 7. Supposing that we accept completely Jesus’s words, in a war in which my country is involved, what can I do to help my country?