September 13, 2020
24th Sunday Ordinary
Peter wants to cap forgiveness at seven times. Jesus takes it to an absurd height: “Not seven times but seventy-seven times!†To make the point Jesus tells a parable. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decides to settle accounts with his servants…†I ask: “Who would want to be part of that kingdom?†-- where a king threatens to sell his servant, wife, children and property in payment for a debt; where that same servant, once his loan has been forgiven, goes out, chokes another servant indebt to him, demands repayment of a much smaller loan and throws him into prison; and lastly, where the king, after he hears about the ungrateful wretch of servant, hands him over to the torturers! The story sounds like taking out a loan from the mob.
Once we get through the dark, unsavory stuff in the story, we get to the point Jesus is making. Jesus is stressing the servant who is forgiven a large debt, must in turn, be gracious and generous, like the king. Jesus makes it a petition in the Our Father: “forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us.†Forgiveness is reciprocal.
Extending and receiving forgiveness are lessons we learn when we grow up. Parents will direct their children, siblings, to apologize, to say, “I am sorry†and to not hold on to a grudge. It is a life lesson that takes a lifetime to learn. Why is it that we are inclined to hold on to a grudge, to live with unforgiveness? It is like taking poison. We may intend to inflict pain on the person who we judge to have caused hurt or harm, but we end up poisoning ourselves. Unforgiveness eats away at our inner peace and destroys relationships and family harmony.
Forgiveness is a challenge especially when Jesus tells us “to forgive your brother and sister from your heart.†It is difficult to forgive another person and it can be difficult to forgive ourselves for a grave sin. We may beat ourselves up when we are reminded of what we have done. But if we hope for God’s forgiveness, we must learn to forgive ourselves.
We need to recall the wisdom of Sirach (1st Reading): “Remember your last days, set enmity aside … hate not your neighbor.†If we die with hatred or revenge in our hearts, how can we hope for God’s mercy for those we love and for ourselves? How can we hope to die and open our eyes to see the merciful face of Jesus?
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23rd Sunday Ordinary
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25th Sunday Ordinary
