Thursday of Week 19 in Ordinary Time
Jos 3:7-10,11,13-17
Mt 18:21-19:1
Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.”
In the Bible, the number seven often symbolizes completion, perfection, and divine wholeness. It signifies a sense of fullness and is used to highlight key ideas and themes throughout both the Old and New Testament.
God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, which is why the number 7 is associated with the Sabbath day of rest. This act of creation and rest establishes 7 as a symbol of divine completion and the establishment of a sacred, cyclical pattern.
So where Jesus responds to Peter’s question about how many times one should forgive, Jesus’ answer, “seventy times seven”, is a symbolic way of saying to forgive without limit. It encourages a spirit of forgiveness that is not restricted by a specific number, or a sense of being wronged too many times.
My daughter, M, turns 5 today. She is very much a pre-schooler. She attends kindergarten, together with a whole host of enrichment activities; just like most pre-schoolers these days. She makes friends, attends birthday parties and goes on play-dates.
I have very faint memories of how I was like, or how I played when I was 5 years old. But I certainly do not remember being ostracised. Yes, I do remember playing and having my fair share of playground squabbles, but I definitely do not recall ever having a friend or classmate tell me that he or she did not want to play with me.
M is talkative and, sometimes, she has been reprimanded in class for chatting during the lesson — by being told to sit on a chair at the end, when the entire class is gathered sitting on the floor. The children apparently call it the ‘High Chair’.
M has apparently been asked a few times to sit on it, and we explain to her that the reason it is done is to remind the child that by chatting while the teacher is teaching, it is tantamount to not being in unity with the class. So, being asked to sit aside temporarily allows the child to reflect and quieten down, before being invited to again sit with the rest of the class.
My dear spouse and I have no issues with this but apparently, the parents of one of M’s classmates did not. This child’s parents asked us if we would accompany them to file an official complaint. Naturally, we declined. Yes, we love M very much. Yes, we do not like to see her embarrassed sitting on the ‘High Chair’; but if it reminds her to behave and focus on the lesson, we certainly condone it.
Little did we know, M’s classmate’s parents told their daughter not to play with M. This child — who was a friend of M and even went on a playdate with M — ostracised M and told M that she would not play with her.
Gosh! I have heard how tough it can get for girls attending single-sex girls’ schools. I have heard how mean some of these girls can behave towards a fellow classmate, and how a number of these girls have mental health issues. But honestly, I never expected this at age 5. Yes, it is true that I do not have hard facts, but the coincidence in occurring events is too uncanny to ignore.
I naturally got very upset, seeing how this affected M. It was not easy for both my spouse and I to try and explain to her that she needs to move on and play with the others. That there was really no fault of hers. The difficult part came when we needed to teach M to forgive. It is not an easy lesson for any adult, let alone a child who is 5 years of age.
With her, neither my spouse nor I can launch into lengthy explanations about how many times to forgive. All we can tell her is that it is sad that her classmate and friend now no longer wants to play with her; that she is well-loved at home and in school. She continues to receive a steady stream of invitations to birthdays and parties. She should not allow this one classmate/friend to upset her BUT, most importantly, she needs to forgive and receive this friend back, when this friend wants to resume playing with her.
Perhaps I too, need to do some reflecting, because I distinctly remember calling M’s classmate’s mother a choice word during a discussion with my spouse!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gerard Francis)
Prayer: We pray for those who struggle to forgive. Help them to realise that forgiving the other person frees us from anger and hurt.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the messages you deliver to us in Your Holy Book.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment