The first reading today is from Ecclesiasticus, which is not to be confused with Ecclesiastes. It is also known as "Sirach," or "The Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach." The author's name would be Jesus Ben Sirach in Hebrew--or Sira, which is the Greek spelling. This book was originally written in Hebrew, and later translated to Greek. The Hebrew version was lost from 400 to 1900 A.D. The book survived in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and several other languages. Around 1900 A.D., extensive fragments of the Hebrew version were found in several places: Cairo, Qumran, and Masada. Two thirds of the Hebrew text exists today, which is a pretty high percentage. The author wrote the original sometime before 180 B.C., which was before the Maccabean revolt. You will not find this in the King James version. This book is included in the Apocrypha.

Sirach, tells us anger, wrath, and vengefulness are all evil. We are told not to harbor wrath, not to be vengeful or unmerciful. Not only that, but if we want healing from God, we must forgive.

Have you ever had problems forgiving someone? Who hasn't? It's hard enough asking forgiveness of someone, or admitting you were wrong, much less forgiving someone who really hurt you, even if they admit they are wrong and ask for forgiveness. It's harder still if you're still angry with them. What if they don't ask forgiveness or want it? What if they aren't sorry they hurt you? What if they enjoyed it? What if they are glad to see you suffering?

We may not think we are harboring grudges or judging someone, but every time we think or say something about political candidates, that person who cut us off on the freeway, or refuse to associate with someone who makes us uncomfortable, we are judging. We may not like someone because they have different political beliefs, or perhaps they have a different way of looking at things. They may be homeless, alcoholic, mentally ill, or opinionated and rude, or simply inconsiderate and thoughtless. We may have trouble forgiving an estranged spouse or a verbally abusive boss. Sometimes we may think we have forgiven someone, only to find it resurfacing later, to our surprise. It is difficult to keep from holding grudges or judging. We're all so human!

I used to think the message of forgiveness Sirach preaches here was only included in the New Testament. Since really studying the Bible, I have discovered verse after verse of this same message in the Tanakht, or Old Testament. "Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned." Every time we say the Lord's Prayer, we pray that our sins be forgiven, as we forgive the sins of those who sin against us. The message is inescapable, and often makes us squirm in our pews.

To understand the second reading, from Paul's letter to the Romans, it needs to be put in context. Paul was dealing with members of the faith who came from a Gentile background, and Jewish Christians who were keeping Mosaic law. There was a conflict over dietary and other cultural restrictions. The passage, "Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike," had to do with Jews keeping the Sabbath, and Gentiles, coming from other backgrounds, not understanding all the laws surrounding it.

Paul later exhorts those who are strong in the faith to be careful that their actions do not cause the weak to stumble. From the sound of it, some of the Jewish members are so worried about dietary restrictions that they ate only vegetables, probably because of the rules about keeping Kosher. The Jewish dietary restrictions were strict. The rules have become more codified since Paul's time, since the Babylonian Talmud and the Halakik regulations were not fully formed until the ninth century, but the Mosaic law forbade any number of foods, especially enjoining against "stewing a calf in its mother's milk," which had to do more with mercy and kindness than with health. In trying to keep this particular law, the Jews did not eat dairy and meat in the same meal. To make certain they comply, observant Jews have two sets of dishes and flatware, one for meat and one for dairy. They also ate only cattle that chewed their cuds and had cloven hooves. They could not eat rabbits, pigs, or horses. Only certain birds were allowed. One could only eat fish with scales and fins. It also meant no shrimp, crabs, oysters, or reptiles. There were strict guidelines on the methods of slaughtering animals for the table, and the laws were stricter yet during Passover, or Pesach, when one could not have any leavening in one's house.

It had already been decided not to force Gentile converts to keep Jewish laws, such as being circumcised and keeping Kosher. Kosher laws are strict, especially if you have never dealt with them before. Imagine suddenly realizing you can't have shrimp, crab, clams, or oysters, all because of the laws of Kosher. Pepperoni pizza has cheese, a dairy product, and meat--definitely a no-no, and my favorite, clam chowder, is definitely out.

Paul made the point earlier in Romans that, in following Christ, we are free of the law, since we died to the law with Christ, and rise to a new law with the risen Christ. Nothing is unclean unless we think it so. Chapter 14 continues after today's reading with the point that if the strong members of the congregation--those who were not bothered by relaxing the Kosher laws, eat meat and drink wine, and in doing so cause the weak members--those who are strict in their observance, to stumble, they are not walking in love. He makes the point that it is better to refrain from meat and wine than to cause others to stumble. Please understand, there was nothing in Jewish law against drinking wine--most of the celebrations, including Sabbath eve and Passover, include wine, but in a ritual setting, and with Kosher wine, not for the purposes of drunken carousing, and not to honor Dionysius, the Greek god, or Bacchus, his Roman counterpart. It may be they were concerned that the wine was not Kosher, or it may have had something to do with the fact that often celebrations of a public nature were held in Roman temples, and it was assumed that the meat and wine were offered to the idols. Paul talks about this problem earlier in Romans.

The Gospel reading for today is from Matthew, and is especially striking. For the record, I didn't plan these readings. They are part of the Church Lectionary's three year cycle. Last year at this time, according to the Lectionary, Jesus was talking about leaving the rest of the sheep to find the one lost sheep.

Today is September 11th. Years after the attacks on the Twin Towers, our country is still hurting, and some of us are still grieving, yet the message today is that we must forgive if we are to receive forgiveness. I will admit, when I discovered I would be giving a homily today of all days, I wanted to run away, or hide under the bed. On the day of the attacks, and afterward, I heard anger, desires for vengeance, and hatred from those on television and all around me. These are human emotions, but we cannot hang onto them. In order to be forgiven our sins, we must forgive. Anger, hatred, and the bearing of grudges poison our souls, making us bitter and unhappy.

Today's Gospel message is clear. How many times should we forgive? Seventy-seven times. I know someone, somewhere, will carry a clipboard with him and check off offenses he had to forgive. "Okay, that's ten times I've had to forgive you. You have 67 more, and then I'm through with you!"

There are literalists in every camp. Seventy-seven was obviously a symbolic number, meaning that one never stops forgiving offenses. Really, there is no end to act of forgiveness, as difficult as that may seem. It is, however, only fair. After all, how many times have we all offended God? Yet, in Isaiah 43:25, God says, "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." God has forgiven us many times, and we are called to follow His example.

Note that Jesus does not say that the member has to ask forgiveness first before Peter forgives him. Nowhere does it say, "you only have to forgive them if they beg forgiveness and repent." Nowhere does it say, "they must be sorry they did wrong." There is no mention of holding out until they change their ways. In fact, even if they continue hurting us, over and over again, we are supposed to forgive them. There is no provision for "Okaaay, I forgive you, but don't ever do it again," but we are supposed to forgive from our hearts. How?

We are human. We want to take revenge. We want to strike out and hurt whoever wronged us as they hurt us. Sometimes, we even want to hit them back, first. When we try to forgive, often it is only an action of words, grudgingly spoken, without our hearts being in it. To forgive from the heart is to forgive completely, not to make excuses for the offense, but to fill our hearts with love.

In last week's reading in Romans, we were told to bless those that curse us, give them food and water and clothing, and to leave room for God's vengeance, but not to take vengeance on our own. As Paul said, "In doing so, you will heap hot coals on their heads." We have to fight human nature in order to follow Christ's commandment to forgive from the heart. It is not easy to do so, but we cannot have mercy from God without having mercy upon others, as Jesus pointed out today in the Gospel reading.

When we truly read the Lord's prayer and reflect on it, we may want to add a little prayer of our own, "Lord, help me to forgive as You forgive, for I am weak and prone to anger. Help me to love as you love."

Forgiveness is a continuing action, I've found. I have to reinforce it each time I begin to dredge up the same judgmental feelings I have towards someone who has hurt me. Each time, I feel guilty that I have not shaken the anger that crops up thinking about that person and whatever they have done. I am sure Christ understands that I am fallible, prone to human emotions, but I sure wish I could stop dredging.

The best way to forgive completely, I think, is to separate the sinner from the sin. "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," as the old saying goes. We need to love the sinner, and hate the sin. As Christians, we are called not only to love each other, but to actually love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who revile us. Only by seeing the good in each person, however hateful that person is toward us, are we able to love each person completely.

It is not easy, but Jesus never said it would be easy. We must learn to walk in love as Christ loved us, and make of ourselves an offering and a living sacrifice to God.

Amen