Gospel Mt 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full. ‘Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized one of his fellow servants and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
Homily
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The story continues; the man who was forgiven the loan, refuses to forgive a fellow servant who owes him far far less than the debt which was forgiven him. When the king hears of this he commands that the unforgiving servant be excluded for his kingdom. He is handed over to the torturers until he repay the full loan, something it was impossible for him to fulfill. Jesus concludes the story by saying; “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
In other words, Jesus is telling us that there is no room in the kingdom of heaven for those who cannot find it in their hearts to forgive, not once or three times but always. As always, Jesus calls us to something diametrically opposed to the prevailing wisdom of the world. The Gospel then questions each one of us. Do we put limits on our forgiveness? Do we forgive relatives and perhaps friends, but others we do not, so that we want people to be removed from the face of the earth? Hang them high we say!! Or do we still live with the Old Testament spirituality which says an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? Today the Gospel reading reminds us that citizens of the kingdom have a different spirituality, it is the spirituality of Jesus who forgives totally and always, no matter how grievous the offence. Where would any of us be if Jesus’ philosophy was “three strikes and you’re out?
Prayer
We thank you Lord for this wonderful teaching which you give to us. We thank you for the many examples of people who live this teaching everyday of their lives, parents with delinquent children, wives and husbands with unfaithful spouses, persons always willing to give another chance. They teach us that it is possible to live the forgiveness which is an expression of the forgiving love of God for his people, the forgiving love of Christ for his Church. Help us Lord to conquer the desire for vengeance in our hearts and help us always to remember how often you forgive us. Never let us tire of forgiveness, understanding that it is through forgiveness that we preserve the unity of our community. Preserve us from becoming “wicked servants” who have no place in the Kingdom of heaven. We ask this through Him who forgives us always. Amen
