The theme throughout these readings is one of great importance to our well-being: forgiveness, a virtue we find challenging at times to carry out. Being human, we all sin, but how often do we forgive and seek forgiveness?
When Peter asked Jesus how often he must forgive his brother, he probably thought he was being very generous in suggesting seven times as a possible answer. Perhaps he even expected Jesus to praise him for realizing that God expected him to practice the art of forgiveness more than once or twice. When he heard Jesus’ crystal clear reply, I imagine he was speechless. Seventy seven times? Why that is impossible! To drive the point home that we should forgive as often as needed, Jesus cautions that when we refuse to forgive, God will refuse to forgive us.
In the parable, Jesus tells us that the debtor brought before the king owed a “huge amount.” That seems rather vague but if we look at other translations of this passage, we are told that huge amount was 10,000 talents, which would be like saying 2 or 3 billion dollars. A talent, the largest unit of currency in biblical times, was equal to 10,000 drachmas. One drachma was a normal day’s wages. So imagine one talent being what a typical person would earn in a lifetime so the debt was an inconceivable sum, unpayable by anyone.
In biblical times, people who could not pay off their debts could be sold into slavery, thus the king’s generosity was beyond belief. The man whose debt had been canceled was owed a much smaller amount by a fellow servant. The ancient Greek text said that small amount was a hundred denarii, about $5000. In spite of how generous the king had been to him, the unjust servant was unwilling to follow the king’s example by forgiving this much smaller debt.
The unjust servant demonstrated that refusing to forgive is a form of anger. Sirach describes anger and wrath poetically as hateful things that the sinner hugs tightly.
Pride stops us from letting go of the anger that arises from being offended or hurt. Our reaction may be reasonable but we do ourselves more harm than good when we keep that anger alive in us. Such anger will eat us up emotionally and maybe even physically as well. God offers a healing we can only experience through forgiveness.
Apart from his command to love one another, Jesus voices no other obligation more forcefully than forgiveness. If we are to love, we must refocus our attention on something other than the hurt or transgression that threatens a relationship. Forgiveness begins with empathy; being able to see a situation from the perspective of the other person yet as the parable makes clear, such empathy is not easy.
Forgiveness does not magically mean the restoration of some past state. The king did not forgive his servant in an effort to get his money back. He accepted the loss and moved on. Nor does forgiving mean the same as forgetting. We may never forget the pain of the incident but we are no longer imprisoned by that offense.
In this parable, Jesus explains not only how often we must forgive but also why we should forgive. If we expect God to be merciful to us, we need to show mercy. If we can be forgiven so often, then in gratitude, we should forgive in return. When someone nurses anger against another person, how can they demand compassion from God?
This parable has only one point: forgiving one another is a condition of God’s forgiving of us. That is the same point Jesus makes in the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If we consistently refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive us in the last judgment unless Jesus cautions, “each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
Nor will God forgive our sins unless we show real sorrow when we ask to be forgiven. Being forgiven does not give us the license to reoffend. In the penitential rite at the start of every Mass, we ask God to be merciful and forgive us for our wrongdoing but in doing so, we must express regret for our sins. Even in the sacrament of reconciliation, without some manner of contrition, there is no forgiveness from God. Sorrow implies our intent to change our behavior.
Recall the responsorial response you sang moments ago. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion. We are being challenged by Christ to mimic the Lord. As Sirach points out, “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” Not, as Paul points out, if they seek to live for the Lord.
Jesus calls on his disciples, that is, you and me, to be committed to the work of reconciliation by putting aside our own hurts, demands, interests and need for getting even in order to build bridges instead of walls. Instead of seeking revenge, we must be ready and willing to make the first move toward forgiveness when the need arises. Let us forget how others have behaved toward us and instead look to God’s way of loving and forgiving us. Life is too fleeting and precious to allow a “spark” of hatred and vengeance to destroy our lives and our relationships.