'Then Peter approaching asked him, “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 (Mt. 18:21-35).”’
The parable about the Kingdom of Heaven has three parts; the King and his servants (royal ministers), the royal ministers among themselves; then the King and his ministers again. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught us, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Mt. 6:12),” and, in this parable, Jesus gives us an example of the forgiveness God expects of his adopted sons and daughters. Through Jesus’ death our sins were buried with him, and God has forgiven the immeasurable debt each one of us owes. God’s mercy is infinite towards sinners. If we do not do likewise and forgive our brothers and sisters from our hearts, including our enemies, we will not be welcomed into God’s kingdom. We are all in God’s debt so there should be no limit to the number of times we forgive others, no matter the circumstances. We cannot abuse God’s divine patience, compassion, and mercy.
Almighty God, help us to realize that the greatest injury or hurt we may suffer from someone does not compare with the sins for which you have already pardoned us. Help us not to show our ingratitude towards you by looking at the little faults in others and taking offense. Grant us the grace to always forgive others from our hearts so that we may be welcomed into your kingdom when our work is done. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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