Ezekiel 12:1-12 / Matthew 18:21 - 19:1
To be able to see and hear are wonderful abilities, and can even said to be necessary faculties.
It is necessary to be able to see and hear in order to interact with our surroundings as well as with other people.
But as we have often heard in the Bible, there are people who have eyes that look and look but they do not see.
They have ears that hear and hear but do not listen.
In the first reading, the Lord God instructed the prophet Ezekiel to act like an exile for the people to see.
Ezekiel did as he was instructed and the people saw what he did.
And the Lord God told Ezekiel to say this to the people: “I am a symbol of you. The thing I have done will be done to them. They will go into exile, into banishment.”
So the people saw what Ezekiel did and heard the message.
But what they saw and what they heard did not seem to awaken them to the impending tragedy that will fall upon them.
In other words, what they saw and what they heard did not lead them to repentance.
In the gospel, Peter thought he was being generous by offering to forgive seven times, when the teaching at that time usually suggested that three is enough.
But what Jesus said about forgiving seventy-seven times was startling and astounding.
But it is meant to awaken Peter and us as well, that forgiveness is so fundamental and necessary in the religious and spiritual life.
What Jesus said would also make us think about how much God has forgiven us.
When we realise that, then we too know that we must forgive others, just as God has forgiven us.