The Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“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.”
-Matthew 18:23-27
The lesson in forgiveness and the parable of the “Unforgiving Servant” proclaimed this Sunday are a continuation of the passage from the 18th chapter of Matthew’s gospel proclaimed last Sunday. As I observed in my previous reflection, the insights Matthew shares come from the experiences of a real community made up of very real women and men who came into conflict with one another. And so, with this in mind, the question we hear from Peter this Sunday isn’t an academic exercise. Instead, Peter stands in for each of us, asking Jesus at what point we can stop doing the hard work of forgiving someone.
As we think about Peter’s question, we can imagine that he thought he was being more than generous by proposing “seven times” as the high number for times to forgive. After all, in Jewish tradition, the rabbis taught that the duty to forgive had been fulfilled if one forgave an offender three times (cf. Diane Bergant, Preaching the New Lectionary: Year A). Jesus, however, has other ideas, telling Peter that seven times isn’t enough. Instead, we are to forgive as many as seventy-seven times. There can be no limit to the number of times we must be willing to forgive those who have offended us.
To emphasize his point, Jesus uses a parable to illustrate both God’s generosity in forgiving, as well as the consequences of refusing to extend forgiveness to those who ask for it.
This parable of the “Unforgiving Servant” is grounded in the customs of the ancient Near East, where kings frequently exercised power over life and death. The servants in the parable were most likely high functionaries within the king’s court, one of whom was found to owe the king the laughable sum of ten thousand talents. (A talent was the equivalent of 6,000 denarii or 6,000 day’s wages). Remarking on this detail in The Forty Parables of Jesus, Gerhard Lohfink observes:
“The parable does not say how it happened. At any rate, we are talking about a gigantic sum of money. The Greek text speaks of myrioi, and myrioi (ten thousand) was the highest number that then existed. There was nothing greater. The audience were hearing about a fairtytale sum of money: they simply could not imagine more
The servant will, of course, never be able to repay such a huge amount. His life and the lives of his family are ruined. Everything is owed to the king and the man—with his wife and children—is to be sold into slavery. In his despair, the man falls on his knees before the king and, bowing down before royal throne, asks the king to forgive his debt. Unbelievably, the king relents and forgives the servant the entire debt.
But, then the parable takes a turn when, as this same servant is leaving the royal chamber, he encounters another servant who owes money to him. But that is where the comparisons end. Just as the Greek text tells us that the first debtor owed ten thousand talents, the second servant owed only a hundred denarii. To say it another way, the second man’s debt was only one-six-hundred-thousandth of that of the first servant. Sadly, the first servant doesn’t flinch when the other man begs for mercy, using the same words he himself had just used with the king. The one who had just been forgiven has this other servant thrown into prison.
“How much suffering, how many wounds, how many wars could be avoided if forgiveness and mercy were the style of our life! Even in families, even in families. How many disunited families, who do not know how to forgive each other. How many brothers and sisters bear this resentment within. It is necessary to apply merciful love to all human relationships: between spouses, between parents and children, within our communities, in the Church and also in society and politics.”
-Pope Francis, Angelus Address (September 13, 2020); Image: “The Unforgiving Servant” by Domenico Fetti (ca. 1620)
For those of us who have experienced God’s mercy, Jesus words to Peter and this parable make very clear what is required of us: as we have received forgiveness, we must also be willing to forgive those who offend us. Otherwise, like the unforgiving servant, we risk forfeiting everything. Here, we would do well to remember that the petition in the Our Father, “forgive [the debt of] our sins” is immediately followed by “as we have forgiven [the debt of] those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12; NRSV). Unless, as Lohfink observes, “those praying the Our Father take seriously the mutuality of divine forgiveness of sins and the obligation to forgive our debtors in turn, they bring God’s judgment on themselves—or, better, they judge (and condemn) themselves).”
It is difficult to forgive someone who has offended us. When we are hurt, one of our first tendencies is to want to inflict pain on the one who hurt us. However, we are called to do and to be more, for the sake of the Gospel and the health of the Church. If God has been so generous in calling us—and forgiving us—despite our unworthiness, surely, we can also be generous in forgiving others.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion…
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.—Psalm 103
