“UH OH!  OH NO!”

[I heard this Sunday's gospel - Matthew 18: 11-35 - at yesterday's  4:30 PM Mass at St. John Neumann. After Mass Archbishop Lori blessed and dedicated the new field house. It hit me at the Mass - “When you preach tomorrow, don’t mess up or put a wet blanket on Jesus’ story about forgiveness.”

Then I said to myself, “Maybe no sermon at all would be best. But you’re expected to preach, so compromise by writing the same story in other words, so that everyone hears again Jesus’ message loud and clear.” 

So here’s Jesus’ story - in a 2017 version. I entitled my story, “Uh Oh. Oh No.” I love the words, “Uh oh!” because I used them once in a sermon and a little kid somewhere in the church yelled out - as an echo, “Uh oh!’ and it got a good laugh.]

UH OH!  OH NO!”

Jack was the head CPA for a chain of some 37 supermarkets.

His boss, Jim, spotted something wrong with the books - sort of by accident, sort of by intuition, sort of by instinct, sort of by experience.

He scratched his head one afternoon. He was by himself and he was looking at a spreadsheet on his computer and said, “Uh oh! Something’s wrong here.”

“Money’s missing.”

“These numbers don’t look right.”

They added up, but something was wrong.

It took Jim  2 1/2 months to figure it out. He figured out by the process of elimination that Jack - his chief accountant  - was the one who was stealing.

“Clever!” he thought. “Very clever.”

So one morning he asked Jack,  if they could meet over future planning.

Jack showed up. He had  no clue - that this moment was about to change his life.

Jim told Jack, “I noticed something’s funny with the books. They don’t add up.”

Jack thought to himself, “Uh oh! Oh no!”

[Silence.]

Jim was looking Jack right in the eye - and Jack nervously looked down.

“Jack, I figured out, it could only be you. We’re missing about $153,000 dollars. What happened?”

[Silence.]

Jack, rubbed his chin, scratched his Adam’s apple - pulling at it, and remained silent.

Jim repeated himself, “Jack, what happened?”

[Silence.]

“Are you and Alice having money problems? Is it gambling? Tuition? Mortgage? What?”

Jack started to cry. Jack started to crumble and mumble. Jack go up and walked over to the window. Jack was scratching the top of his head and rubbing his scalp with his nails very rigorously.

Jack  then sat down in a corner couch and said, “Jim, I’m sorry. I blew it.”

[Silence.]

“It was a whole series of things.”

“It started about a year and a half ago. Yeah it was tuition for starters. My two daughters wanted to go to college in out-of-state places. I was trying to be a good father - a good guy. ‘Wherever, I said ….’”

“Then it was my sister, she was stuck for money, and I gave her $5000.”

“Then it was credit card debt - about 10 credit cards - and I was the one who was so good with money.”

Jack began sobbing. Crying. Wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

“Jim, I’m sorry. Sorry. I betrayed you, us, the company.”

Jim remained silent and listened.

Jack said, “I don’t know what to say or do. Please, please, please. I can’t go to jail. I don’t know how I can repay you. In two years Alice and I can downsize and I can sell our house and I’ll try to pay you back slowly. I will. I will. Please.”

Jim came over to Jack and said, “Look. We have worked together for 17 years now. Let me see if I can help you get out of debt - so you can start again.

“I’ll forgive you everything - if you do me one favor. Let’s straighten out the books and you let me help you straighten out your money situation.”

Jack stopped sobbing and looked up at Jim’s face.

“What!  Why? You would do this for me?”

“Yeah,” said Jim. “When I first started working for this company I stole about $900 dollars. I needed money badly at the time.”

“I never got caught, but it has bothered me ever since.”

“In time I slowly put what I stole back into the till - little by little - or gave money to cashiers who I knew were low on cash.”

“But it has bothered me all my life.”

“What I want you to do is to let my forgiving you bother you for the rest of your life - especially when you see people not allowing other people to make mistakes.”

Then Jim said, “Jack I’m going out to one of our stores right now. Why don’t you just sit here for twenty minutes - and pull yourself together.”

Then Jim took out his wallet and took out $200 and said to Jack, “Here’s some money. Call Alice up and take her out for lunch. Enjoy.”

At Jack’s funeral, 27 years after that moment, his oldest daughter gave her dad’s eulogy. 

Amongst other things she said, “My dad was the most forgiving and understanding person I have ever known. He wasn’t always that way - especially when we were teenagers - but something happened that changed him - when we were in college - and wow. What a great guy to have as your dad.”

And Jim - sitting there - in church that morning wiped some tears from his eyes - but not the smile from his face.