OT XXIV [A]: Sir 27:30–28:7; Rom 14:7-9; Mt 18:21-35

A captive was once brought before King James II of England. The King chided the prisoner: “You know that it is in my power to pardon you?” The scared, shaking prisoner replied, “Yes, I know it is in your power to pardon me, but it is not in your nature.” –The prisoner had the keen insight to know that unless we have had a spiritual rebirth, we have no nature to forgive. Forgiveness is a Christian virtue and is the hallmark of our Christian faith and practice. Forgiving the other in the full sense is a form of loving and caring.

In the first reading of today, Sirach tells us that we must forgive our neighbor if we want God to forgive our own sins. We must be merciful if we want to obtain mercy from God. We must not seek revenge on a neighbor lest God should take vengeance on us. 

Today’s Gospel opens with one of Peter’s straightforward questions, asking the Lord how often he ought to forgive. If he forgives seven times, was it sufficient? According to the rabbinical tradition, forgiveness apparently extends to three offences, and the fourth offence calls for punishment.  Good-hearted Peter doubles the forgiveness of the rabbis and adds one for good measure, and considers himself very generous. To his surprise, Jesus is not impressed and tells him that it is not seven but seventy-seven.  Luke makes it further more difficult to count, saying seventy times seven. In other words, you may not attach a number, a limit, to the times you forgive.

Along with the command to forgive, man must also be given a reason to do so. It is what Jesus did with the parable of the king and his two servants. The parable makes clear why one must forgive: because God has forgiven us in the past and continues to forgive us. He cancels a debt of ours that is infinitely greater than the one a fellow human being might have with us.

Saint Paul could say: "as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive" (Col 3:13). The Old Testament law, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," has been surmounted. The criterion no longer is: "Do to someone what he has done to you"; but, "What God has done to you, you do to the other."

 

Perhaps it is hard to forgive because we have been expecting in the human that which is found only in the divine. Admittedly, it is hard to forgive when the faults of our enemies are so clear to us, and the pain of the injury we have suffered at their hands runs deep. The parable tells us to focus elsewhere - not on the failings and limitations of man but on the immense mercy of God - the ocean of God’s mercy.

This is how we all live. We live under the mercy of God. He has been so good to all of us. When we consider what we have received, the call to be merciful to others is a tiny reflection of God's great gift to us. Living under His mercy, we must bring his mercy and compassion to others. Today's readings encourage us to recognize what we have received, to bask in the mercy of God, and to extend this mercy to others.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is such a central quality in the Kingdom of God that Our Lord even incorporates it into the Great Prayer he taught his disciples to recite: "Forgive us our sins, according to how we forgive others." (Or to put it another way, "Lord, don't forgive us our sins unless we forgive others who hurt us."

In our daily lives, we encounter situations that test our capacity to forgive. Perhaps someone has betrayed our trust, hurt us deeply, or wronged us repeatedly. Yet, we must remember that the forgiveness we offer is not condoning the wrongdoing but freeing ourselves from the burden of bitterness and anger.

Something within us seems to feel that we have a right to continue in our anger towards someone who has hurt us badly. After all, we didn't create the situation. The other person did. We didn't attack the other person. The other person attacked us. We were the victims, not the aggressors. Our lives would have been significantly different if that other person had not said or done this or that. And so, we attempt to justify our anger, our grudge.

In the book of Genesis, we encounter the story of Joseph, who forgave his brothers after they had sold him into slavery out of jealousy. Despite their betrayal and cruelty, Joseph forgave them when he had the power to seek revenge. He said to them in Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Joseph's forgiveness is a profound example of letting go of resentment and trusting in God's greater plan.

In conclusion, the passage from Matthew 18:21-35 teaches us that forgiveness is not optional but a divine mandate. It calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven, extending mercy to others as God has extended it to us. 

As we go forth from this place today, let us carry with us the wisdom of Jesus' teaching and the inspiration of these examples. Let us strive to be agents of forgiveness and reconciliation, knowing that when we forgive, we reflect the heart of our loving and merciful God.