GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 18:21-19:121 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; 25 and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' 27 And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, `Pay what you owe.' 29 So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' 30 He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; 33 and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' 34 And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." 19:1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
Meditation: Does mercy overlook justice? Justice demands
that everyone be given their due. So when is it right to show
mercy and pardon to those who have acted unjustly or wrongly? The
prophet Amos speaks of God forgiving transgression three times,
but warns that God may not revoke punishment for the fourth (see
Amos 1:3-13; 2:1-6). When Peter posed the question of forgiveness,
he characteristically offered an answer he thought Jesus would be
pleased with. Why not forgive seven times! How unthinkable for
Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must forgive
seventy times that.
No limit to granting forgiveness and pardon
Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit to giving and
receiving forgiveness. He drove the lesson home with a parable
about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an
enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time
this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province -
more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven
such an incredible debt could not, however, bring himself to
forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about
one-hundred-thousandth of his own debt. The contrast could not have
been greater!
Jesus paid our ransom to set us free from the debt of sin
No offense our neighbor can do to us can compare with our own
personal debt to God for offending him! We have been forgiven an
enormous debt we could not repay on our own. That is why the
Father in heaven sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who freely and willing gave up his life for our sake to
ransom us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death. Paul the Apostle
states, "you were bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 7:23 ) and
that price was Jesus' death on the cross. Through the shedding of
his blood on the cross, Jesus not only brought forgiveness and
pardon for our offenses, but release from our captivity to Satan
and bondage to sin.
Set free from futile thinking and sinful living
The Lord Jesus sets us free from a futile mind and way of living
in sin and spiritual darkness. "You were ransomed from the futile
ways inherited from your fathers ...with the precious blood of
Christ" (1 Peter 1:18). Christ "gave himself to redeem us from all
iniquity" (Titus 2:14). Iniquity describes the futile ways of
wrong thinking, sinful attitudes and wrong behavior, and
disregarding or treating God's commandments lightly. We have been
forgiven an enormous debt which we could never possibly repay. We
owe God a debt of gratitude for the mercy and grace he has given
us in his Son, Jesus Christ.
Forgiving others is a sacred duty
If God has shown mercy to us in granting us pardon for
our sins, then we, in turn, must show mercy and forgiveness
towards every person who has offended us. The willingness to
forgive those who offend us is a sacred duty. If we expect God to
pardon us and show us his mercy when we sin and disobey his
commandments, then we must be willing to let go of any resentment,
grievance, or ill-will we feel towards our neighbor. Jesus teaches
us to pray daily for the grace and strength to forgive others in
the same measure in which God has forgiven us (Matthew
6:12,14-15). If we do not show mercy and forgiveness to our fellow
human beings, how can we expect God to forgive us in turn? The
Apostle James says that "judgment is without mercy to one who
has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).
Mercy seasons justice and perfects it
Mercy is the flip-side of God's justice. Without mercy
justice is cold, calculating, and even cruel. Mercy seasons justice as salt seasons meat and gives
it flavor. Mercy follows justice and perfects it. Justice demands
that the wrong be addressed. To show mercy without addressing the
wrong and to pardon the unrepentant is not true mercy but license.
C.S. Lewis, a 20th century Christian author wrote: "Mercy will
flower only when it grows in the crannies of the rock of Justice:
transplanted to the marshlands of mere Humanitarianism, it becomes
a man-eating weed, all the more dangerous because it is still
called by the same name as the mountain variety." If we want
mercy shown to us we must be ready to forgive others from the
heart as God has forgiven us. Do you hold any grudge or resentment
towards anyone? Ask the Lord to purify your heart that you may
show mercy and loving-kindness to all - and especially to those
who cause you grief and ill-will.
Lord Jesus, you have been kind and forgiving towards me. May I be merciful as you are merciful. Free me from all bitterness and resentment that I may truly forgive from the heart those who have caused me injury or grief.
Psalm 78:6-7,55-62
7 So that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
56 Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not observe his testimonies,
57 but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among men,
61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.
62 He gave his people over to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: How often shall I forgive? by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"When Peter asked him whether he should forgive his brother
sinning against him up to seven times, the Lord replied, 'Not up
to seven times but up to seventy times seven times'" In every way
he teaches us to be like him in humility and goodness. In
weakening and breaking the impulses of our rampant passions he
strengthens us by the example of his leniency, by granting us in
faith pardon of all our sins. For the vices of our nature did not
merit pardon. Therefore all pardon comes from him. In fact, he
pardons even those sins that remain in one after confession. The
penalty to be paid through Cain was established at sevenfold, but
that sin was against a man, against his brother Abel, to the point
of murder (Genesis 4:8). But in Lamech the penalty was established
at seventy times seven times (Genesis 4:24), and, as we believe,
the penalty was established on those responsible for the Lord's
Passion. But the Lord through the confession of believers grants
pardon for this crime. By the gift of baptism he grants the grace
of salvation to his revilers and persecutors. How much more is it
necessary, he shows, that pardon be returned by us without measure
or number. And we should not think how many times we forgive, but
we should cease to be angry with those who sin against us, as
often as the occasion for anger exists. Pardon's frequency shows
us that in our case there is never a time for anger, since God
pardons us for all sins in their entirety by his gift rather than
by our merit. Nor should we be excused from the requirement of
giving pardon that number of times [i.e., seventy times seven],
since through the grace of the gospel God has granted us pardon
without measure." (excerpt from ON MATTHEW 18.10)
