Sirach27:30–28
Romans14:7–9
Matthew18:21–35
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today the Word of God places before us one of the most beautiful, but also one of the most difficult, demands of Christian life: forgiveness. We all know that forgiveness is important. We pray it every time as we say the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” But although we can easily say these words, putting them into practice can be extremely difficult. Sometimes someone hurts us deeply. Someone betrays our trust, speaks badly about us, disappoints us, takes advantage of us, or refuses to acknowledge the wrong they have done. And our natural reaction is often: “I will never forgive that person.” Yet today Jesus challenges us to look at forgiveness from God’s perspective.
The first reading from the Book of Sirach gives us very practical wisdom: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” Sirach asks us a very important question: How can we ask God for mercy while refusing to show mercy to another person? We sometimes carry anger for years. We replay the offence in our minds. We remember exactly what the person said and did. We may even tell the story repeatedly to other people. And while the other person may have moved on, we continue to carry the burden. The reading says: “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” This is a powerful question. Unforgiveness does not only hurt the person who offended us. It also hurts the person who refuses to forgive. When we hold on to resentment, we allow the offence to continue controlling our hearts. Forgiveness, therefore, is not pretending that nothing happened. It is not saying that evil is acceptable. Rather, forgiveness means refusing to allow another person’s sin to have permanent control over our hearts.
The second reading gives us the deeper reason why Christians should forgive. St Paul says: “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord.” In other words, our lives belong to Christ. When someone hurts us, we may feel justified in saying, “This is my life, my dignity, my justice, my revenge.” But Paul reminds us that we belong to the Lord. Christ is the one who has the final word over our lives. And what has Christ done for us? He has forgiven us. He has not treated us according to our sins. He did not wait for us to become perfect before loving us. Instead, while we were still sinners, Christ gave himself for us. Therefore, Christian forgiveness begins not with the question, “Does this person deserve my forgiveness?” It begins with the question: “How much forgiveness have I myself received from God?” Once we recognize how much God has forgiven us, our hearts begin to change.
In the Gospel Jesus gives us the powerful parable of the servant who owed his master an enormous debt. The servant cannot repay it. He begs for mercy, and the master does something extraordinary: he forgives the entire debt. The servant walks away free. But shortly afterwards, he meets another servant who owes him a much smaller amount. Instead of showing the mercy that he himself has received, he grabs the man and demands payment. When the master hears about this, he is angry. Jesus concludes: “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” That is the heart of today’s Gospel. We are forgiven people who are called to become forgiving people. The first servant made a terrible mistake: he wanted to receive mercy without giving mercy. And sometimes we can do the same. We come to church. We confess our sins. We ask God to forgive us. We receive the Eucharist. We say, “Lord, have mercy.” But then we leave the church and say: “But I will never forgive that person.” Jesus tells us that there is a contradiction here.
Peter asks Jesus: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Peter probably thinks he is being generous. Seven times seems like a lot. But Jesus responds: “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is not giving Peter a mathematical calculation. He is saying that forgiveness must become a way of life. We should not keep a notebook recording how many times we have forgiven someone. Christian forgiveness says: “I will not allow hatred to become the master of my heart.” This does not mean that forgiveness always happens instantly. Sometimes we need time to heal. Sometimes a relationship needs boundaries. Sometimes serious injustice requires accountability and justice. And sometimes we may need to forgive someone even when reconciliation is not immediately possible. But forgiveness means that, with God’s grace, we gradually release hatred, revenge, and the desire to destroy the other person.
Today’s Gospel invites each of us to look honestly into our hearts. Perhaps there is someone in your family whom you have not forgiven. Perhaps it is a husband or wife. Perhaps a child. Perhaps a parent. Perhaps a brother or sister. Perhaps a friend or colleague. Perhaps someone in the parish. Perhaps there is someone you have not spoken to for years because of something that happened long ago. And sometimes the person we need to forgive is someone who has already died. We may be carrying an old wound without realizing how heavily it weighs upon us. Today Jesus invites us to place that person and that wound before him. We can say: “Lord, I cannot forgive this person by my own strength. But I want to forgive. Give me the grace to begin.” That prayer itself can be the beginning of healing. Amen.