Readings: Sirach 27:30-28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35
Forgive that You may be Forgiven.
1.
Last Sunday’s
readings encouraged us to correct one another in love. Today, Christ’s teaching
in answer to Peter’s question is that we are not just to correct one another in
love, but to go a step further and practice forgiveness for as long as it
takes. Peter asked Christ: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must
I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter was very generous in offering to
forgive his brother up to seven times. Because the Rabbinic teaching was that a
man must forgive his brother three times before the offender is punished. “He
who begs forgiveness from his neighbor must not do so more than three times.”
Peter expected Christ to commend him for his generosity and for going beyond
the Rabbinic teaching. Forgiving up to seven times was highly commendable;
after all, he took the Rabbinic three times, multiplied it by two, for good
measure, added one, and suggested, with eager self-satisfaction, that it would
be enough if he forgave his offenders seven times. But Christ did not buy it! Christ’s
answer to Peter was simple: the Christian must forgive seventy times seven. In
other words, forgiveness has no reckonable limit.
2.
In the first
reading, we see why we should forgive others. “Wrath and anger are hateful
things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s
vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.” The God who has the right to
withhold forgiveness from us does not stop forgiving us. God forgives his
children always and does not withhold his mercy and love from anyone who asks
for forgiveness. But we find it difficult to accept God’s forgiveness. We know
that we have accepted God’s forgiving love by forgiving others. The first
reading asks, “Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect
healing from the Lord? Sirach proposes several motives for forgiving others.
Thinking of our own death is one. What good will hatred of others do after we
have died? God’s commandment not to hate our neighbor is another. But the best of
all is “the Most High’s covenant,” that is, the Lord’s own loving forgiveness
of us.
3.
The best reason
why we should forgive comes from the parable of Christ about the forgiving King.
The huge amount of money the king writes off is contrasted with the tiny amount
the official refuses to forgive. Jesus stated that the official did not truly
understand or make his own the king’s great act of forgiveness. If he had, he
would have readily forgiven his fellow servant. Because he did not, his own
debt remains. As noted in the Our Father prayer, we learn that a man must
forgive to be forgiven. He who will not forgive his fellow-men cannot hope that
God will forgive him. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither
will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt. 6: 14,15). Therefore, Love,
kindness, compassion, and magnanimity are aspects of forgiveness. The true sign
of Christianity is love, and the power of love is forgiveness. Forgiveness
should be permanent, not occasional. The quality of love is sweet, and that of
mercy and kindness is sweeter. One feels more enriched when one forgives than
when one is forgiven.
4.
It is easy to
talk about forgiving others. We can handle that and work towards it. But
forgiving oneself could be a problem. We may have done things in the past that
make it difficult to forgive ourselves. This may harden us and make us see
others through the lens of our past behaviors. Because we have not forgiven
ourselves, it may make it difficult to forgive others. So let us learn to
forgive ourselves first; then it will be easy to forgive others.
5.
In the world that
considers revenge, cruelty and callousness as necessary ingredients for success
in life, Christians should be living examples of forgiveness, tenderness and
kindness. We should also say, like Paul, “If we live, we are the Lord’s. The
decision to live and die for the Lord will enable us to assimilate Jesus’
forgiveness, kindness, and compassion. St. Augustine reminds us that “If you
are suffering from a bad man’s injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad
men.”
6.
The best place
to experience the forgiving love of God concretely is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
And when we receive God’s forgiveness, we should be willing to forgive others
as we have been forgiven.
Rev. Augustine Etemma
Inwang, MSP
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