Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 9/13
Today’s Gospel is one where you read it and grimace to yourself. Have you ever sat in the pew at Mass, feeling as though God picked the reading just for you? It’s one of those readings that seems to scream, “Hey, this one is for you, kid” with its perfect timing and directness.
Today’s Gospel reflection is on forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus replies, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” For those of us who keep a tally of people’s wrongdoings, this is where the grimacing comes in.
To illustrate his point, Jesus then recounted a story of a master and his servant who owed him a great debt. The servant begged for his master’s patience. The master, moved with compassion forgave the loan. When the servant went back home, he discovered one of his fellow servants was in debt to him. Instead of expressing the same compassion and forgiveness he had just received from his master, the servant began attacking his fellow servant -- demanding he pay him back.
When the master found out, he said, “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” The master then handed him over to the torturers until he paid back his debt. Jesus concluded, “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
It’s hard not to think of all the things God has forgiven us of in light of the things we haven’t forgiven others for. It’s hard not to feel like the servant who received forgiveness, but wouldn’t practice forgiveness himself.
Consider the incredible sacrament of confession. When we receive this sacrament, our sins are wiped clean -- but how often do we turn around and hold grudges against people who have done wrong against us? We go to Jesus, asking and receiving forgiveness for our darkest sins, but if someone insults us, hurts us, slights us, or is simply rude to us -- we refuse to forgive them.
Instead of viewing this gospel reading as harsh admonishment, let’s simply remember the compassion and forgiveness we desperately need on a day-to-day basis. Let’s remember our humanness and the many ways we’re flawed. Let’s consider how much we need to cling to our Lord’s endless mercy. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are also human and flawed. Just as Christ forgives us for our repeated sins, let us extend that same forgiveness to our fellow servants. We are one in the same, all in debt to our Lord who has paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Let us forgive as He forgives.
Lillian Fallon