Twenty-fourth
Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 18:21-35]
27.09.2023
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
1. Theme in brief
Forgiving others as God has forgiven us
2. Focus Statement
Our experience of receiving God’s forgiveness for
our greater sins imposes an obligation on us to forgive the smaller offences of
our brothers and sisters.
3. Explanation of
the text
Today’s gospel deals with the most difficult issue of forgiving those who sin against us or offend us. It begins with the question asked by Peter to Jesus: How often should he forgive anybody who sins against him? He answered his own question by suggesting that forgiving an offender seven times could be the most generous limit (18:21), because Jewish Rabbis taught that maximum number of forgiveness granted to an offender must be three times. Peter must have been astonished when Jesus said: “Not seven times, but seventy times seven” (18:22). By saying that the disciples must forgive their offenders seventy times seven, Jesus does not mean 490 times, but teaches that Christian forgiveness has no limits and no conditions (18:21-22).
Through the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (18:23-35), Jesus teaches that the experience of receiving God’s forgiveness for their serious sins imposes an obligation on his disciples to forgive the smaller offences of others. Since God forgives sinners unconditionally as often as they repent, his disciples too must forgive others unconditionally (18:35). Hence, our forgiveness is linked to God’s forgiveness of our manifold sins and offences. In this parable, though the first debtor of a huge debt was willing to pay it later on and asked the king to be patient till he collected the amount (18:26), the king forgave the debt on the spot out of pity or compassion for him (18:27), and not because he deserved it. Readiness to forgive those who have offended us is proposed by Jesus as a primary requirement of Christian life. How can a person who refuses to forgive others expect to be forgiven by God? Those who refuse to forgive their offenders do not deserve to be forgiven by God (18:32-35).
Why
should we forgive? In this parable Jesus must have purposely exaggerated the
amount of debt owed by the first debtor in order to emphasize the great contrast between the two debts. The first one owed his
master ten thousand talents. One talent was equal to fifteen years of wages. So
the amount is incredible. The second one owed only a hundred denarii. One
denarius was equal to only one day’s wage for a labourer. The story depicts the
great contrast between the patient, compassionate and forgiving king and the unforgiving, rude and throttling servant. The point is that
the offences we are called to forgive are so trifle compared to the amount of
sins God forgives us.
3. Application
to life
Human relationships do get strained and broken at times. For anybody forgiveness is very difficult and does not come automatically. Even a child
when asked to apologize for doing something wrong, does not do it easily. For
us adults, not only asking for forgiveness is hard but also granting forgiveness to those who have hurt us deeply
becomes very hard.
According to today’s gospel text, Peter thought that only his
brother or sister would sin against him, but did not think of the possibility
of him sinning against his brother or sister. He asked Jesus about the limit of forgiveness. Peter thought he was showing a
great generosity when he proposed forgiving an offender seven times, whereas
Jewish rabbis advocated only three times. Jesus wants that we should avoid all mathematical calculations while granting pardon to others. We have a tendency to count mentally
(in imagination) how many times so and so has behaved in a nasty way with me;
how many times spoken ill of me or spoiled my name; how many times cheated me; how many times quarrelled or fought with me
……….. Today, Jesus exhorts us to stop becoming very calculative in our loving
relationships with our brothers and sisters. Jesus tells us where there is genuine love, there is no limit for forgiveness.
For a Christian disciple, forgiveness is not optional. Jesus tells us, unless we forgive our brothers and sisters from the heart, we shall not be forgiven by God (Mt 6:14-15; 18:35). This should not be taken literally, as if God has conditions for loving or forgiving us. What this text means is, if we are God’s children we should exhibit God’s own forgiving nature out of compassion for sinners. Otherwise we do not deserve to be called his children. In other words, forgiveness is a requirement to qualify ourselves as his children. Just like a person who applies for a job needs to have proper qualification to get that job, so also a Christian disciple should have the qualification to become a member of God’s Kingdom. Otherwise, he/she forfeits the dignity of being called a child of God. In other words, though God’s mercy and pardon is always available to us, we become truly worthy of receiving it when we are willing to forgive the faults and hurts caused by others. Since we have been first forgiven by God, his love and grace encourages and impels us to forgive others in turn.
Refusal to forgive those who have offended us blocks our relationship with God. Our forgiveness of offenders is based on the fact that we ourselves are the beneficiaries of God’s forgiveness. When we cannot forgive the hurts inflicted on us by the rude words and behaviour of our brothers and sisters, it is necessary to think of the number of times God has forgiven our greater sins, instead of concentrating on the manner in which they have hurt us. We have to share God’s own forgiveness with others in a generous way. Otherwise, how can we become worthy of receiving God’s forgiveness? If we have lost the prerequisite to be called God’s children by refusing to forgive, do we deserve to be forgiven? By refusing to forgive, we want to show our hold over our opponents or offenders. In the mean time we become prisoners of hatred.
Forgiveness should be from the heart and not superficial or conditional. Sometimes we place ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ before we forgive. Often breakage and estrangement of human relationships due to anger, infighting, nursing of revenge and hatred becomes a poison that kills peace in our hearts, families and communities. Those who are bitter and refuse to forgive are sick; they must be seeking love and attention for themselves. An unforgiving heart is the worst prison. By not forgiving the sins and offences of our brothers and sisters we imprison ourselves and go on punishing them in our minds. By doing so, we punish ourselves. By our unforgiving attitude, we confine ourselves to the prison of hatred, revenge, and bitterness which will have a negative repercussion on our physical, mental and spiritual health. Forgiveness frees both: us and the one who accepts pardon. We need to be free from this bondage for our own good. It is a healing experience, since it washes away the poison of bitterness and ill-feelings towards a person. There is an old saying that harbouring bitterness against our offender is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Are we willing to break this wall of hatred and division by reconciliation? In forgiveness, we do not have to count the number of times we have forgiven others, but think of God whose forgiveness, we received every time we repented, and shall continue to receive.
Forgiveness does not come to us naturally, since our human nature always revolts against any injury done by an outside force. But this is the only way to mend broken relationships, personal hurts and regain or re-create the lost love. When we are hurt deeply, feelings against such persons are very intense. Therefore, forgiveness is not a feeling, but a decision to be made in our mind. It is choosing to love or choosing to show mercy to an offender. We need to ask ourselves whether we live by feelings or live by choice. What is humanly impossible can become possible with a lot of prayer and God’s supernatural grace. To generate feelings of compassion towards the wrongdoers when injury inflicted on us is very deep, it may take a longer period of time and struggle.
Our offer of unconditional pardon to our offenders does not mean that we agree with their offences or wrongdoings. It does not mean what they did or are doing is alright. Our forgiveness does not absolve the offenders from their sins. Instead, we hope that the mercy shown to them may gradually lead them to repentance and a change of heart.
4. Response to God's Word
Who are our personal, caste or class and national enemies? Do we take steps to forgive them? Do we nurse bitterness against them? Within our families and communities, are we often concerned about punishing our offenders and enemies? Instead of planning retaliation, do we plan how to forgive them? Do put conditions to grant forgiveness to those who have offended or hurt us? Do we fix a limit to our forgiveness? Do we become calculative in forgiving others? Are we willing to break the wall of hatred and division by forgiveness and reconciliation?
5. A prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.
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