Sirach 27:30 – 28:7/Ps.102:1-4,9-12/Rom.14:7-9/Matt.18:21-35

The first reading of today deals with the theme of forgiveness and how we are all reminded that as God’s faithful people and believers, should be filled with love, forgiveness, patience and humility. It also speaks of nursing anger and cherishing resentment and keeping of the wrongs of the other.

Beloved, we need to find a way of letting go of our anger and resentment, for our own sake as well as for the sake of others. So, to resolve anger and resentment, the prophet says, “remember the end of your life…” two elements of remembrance, that, man is mortal, he emphasizes the importance of the state of one’s conscience at the moment of death. In this, he tells the man who is still at enmity with his neighbour to meditate on his end (Death) and then he will see what folly it is for him to be angry with his neighbour. This explains why we should not eternally bear a grudge.

The second element of remembrance is that of the Commandments and Covenant. This calls to mind Israel’s infidelity and God’s faithful love in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness. So, this gives us the fundamental reason why we must necessarily forgive as we have been forgiven. Brethren, life experience has taught me that forgiveness seems like a very good idea until you have someone to forgive.

In the gospel reading, Peter asks Jesus “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” In the biblical world, the number seven was considered a symbol of perfection, completeness. So, to forgive someone seven times would have been considered the ultimate standard of forgiveness. So beloved, whiles Peter wanted to put some limit on forgiveness in the face of personal injury, even if it was a very generous limit; Jesus calls for forgiveness without limit. Also, seven is the number of the Sabbath. So, the term ‘sabat’ (Gen.2:3) means “to cease” or “to stop”. So, to everything there must be a Sabbath, that is even for holding unto a grudge.

Therefore, the idea was that one cannot hold a grudge beyond the Sabbath; for the Sabbath guarantees a fresh start. Therefore, what Jesus teaches here is a complete undoing of the justification of vengeance.

In the parable that Jesus gave, the first servant asks the king for time to pay back. The truth is that, there was no way he could ever have paid such a debt back, no matter how much time he was given. In an extraordinary act of generosity, the king simply cancelled the whole debt. Beloved, we can feel how Mercy triumphed over justice.

 Unfortunately, when he met a lower-ranking servant who owed him a very small and manageable debt, he could not reciprocate this act of generosity of the King. So, brethren, this also calls on us to allow this boundless forgiveness of God to touch and shape our lives so much so that some of it flows through us onto those who offend and hurt us.

 Like I did mention earlier it doesn’t mean that forgiving another will ever come easy to us. It can be a lifelong project. Yet, the more aware we become of ourselves as graced by God’s boundless mercy, the freer we will become to forgive those who sin against us. Please, we must do whatever we can to release ourselves from the stronghold of unforgiveness. Therefore, let us all instead, cultivate the culture of forgiveness, compassion and selfless love, in all of our actions and dealings.