THE WORD
Ez 12,1-12 / Mt 18,21-19,1
Peter approaching asked Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? 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 him 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 him 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 his brother from his heart.” When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
IN OTHER WORDS
I read a book describing forgiveness as ‘granting free pardon or giving up resentment for a hurt or debt against us.” In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us to forgive from our heart. Forgiveness from our heart is often very difficult. The book Restoring Peace says, “Forgiveness cuts both ways and is a choice, because it is a decision and an internal change of heart…Sometimes you need to ask for forgiveness and sometimes you need to grant it.”
Jesus says that if we want God to forgive us, we must forgive those who hurt us. Most of us pray the “Our Father” saying these words: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” But at times we speak of these words out of habit and don’t think much about what we are saying. In fact we are saying to the Lord: “Lord, forgive us to the extent, to the same degree, in the same way as we ourselves have forgiven those who have hurt, insulted or put us to shame.” Let’s not forget that we all need forgiveness. God is ready to write off our debt, but if we want forgiveness from God, we must forgive, with no limit, those who have off ended us.
The real test of your greatness is not only how many times you forgive but how completely. We hear some people say, “I forgive but I just can’t forget.” Maybe you, yourself have said it. This attitude of forgiving but not letting go is not complete forgiveness. When you nurse your hurt feelings while your lips utter the words of pardon it is not Christian forgiveness at all. That’s why Jesus says: “My heavenly Father will not forgive you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
- Fr. Deva Savariyappan, SVD | DWCB, Bangued, Abra
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
