Forgiveness- A Homily

My reflection on the daily Scripture Readings of 8/13/15

(Jos 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17/ Ps 114:1-6/ Mt 18:21-19:1)

"I forgive you!" 

How beautiful are these words!  They restore peace and serenity to our souls and balance to our lives.

Forgiveness- We all desire it, but how often do we find it difficult to forgive?  Our pride can get in the way and even when we do offer forgiveness, we can hold grudges and resentments.

Today, Jesus shows us a different path!  

The first reading and the psalm emphasize God's power and protection towards His faithful people.  And in the Gospel today, we see an illustration of God's justice, mercy, and forgiveness.

First, Jesus tells Peter to forgive seventy times seven times.  Let us remember too, that the number seven represents perfection according to ancient Jewish thought. Secondly, in Christ's parable, the debt that the first servant owes to his king is incredibly immense!  He owed 10,000 talents and one talent alone would equal twenty years' wages!

There was no way possible for him to repay this burden, and yet he pleaded to his Lord that he would in time, pay it back.  These words, although inaccurate, were spoken out of desperation to save his family.  What does the king then do?  Full of mercy, he forgives that servant everything and offers him a chance at new life.

Story does not end here, however, as the servant goes on to refuse to give the same mercy and forgiveness to another servant, who owed him a lesser debt, in this case, 100 denarii, which equaled about 100 day's wages.  As a result, the once forgiven servant is punished by the king.

What then is the lesson here for us?

The ancient writers saw that this parable was a recounting of the Incarnation, that is that God the Father forgave us all our immense burdens of sin through Jesus Christ.  Since we have been forgiven much, so too, should we forgive others and pass on God's mercy.

Christ, indeed offers us unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness, and is always waiting for us with outstretched arms, especially when we approach Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation with humble hearts, and hear those words of hope and healing: "I forgive you."