Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“’Therefore is the Kingdom of Heaven likened unto a certain king who would settle accounts with his servants.’”
It should be immediately clear to us that this parable is descriptive of the Kingdom of Heaven. It uses an earthly analogy to convey the divine reality. The Kingdom of Heaven – the Kingdom of God’s Kingship – is like this: one day He will settle all accounts with all of His subjects. We call that the Judgment. It is this coming Judgment, then, that sheds light on how we live today and are to be living. The Kingdom of Heaven is ever present to us, especially here in the Church. We live and move and have our very being within its courts (Ac. 17:28). In fact, our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ even goes so far as to say that this Kingdom is not only among us, but it is to be found in us – in our souls and in our hearts and in our minds (Lk. 17:21). It penetrates and permeates us, giving form and shape and substance to our faith and our morals and our existence as the baptized of the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and it defines who we are and to Whom we owe all things. Indeed, its light enlightens and guides us here now on earth just as it is in Heaven so that we are “sons of [its] light,” that is, sons of God (Our Father; Jn. 12:36). When we live by the King and His Kingdom in the darkness of this world, we become and are as stars, “[shining] as lights,” St. Paul says, “as lights in the world,” revealing by the light of the Kingdom of Heaven the crookedness and perverseness of this generation (Pp. 2:15). If we do not, we are no more identifiable from the rest of the world and will be easily mistaken to be one of the world’s children.
Today’s parable, then, reveals the Kingdom of Heaven which also means that it reveals the will of God: to forgive always as we ourselves have been and are being forgiven by God, to show mercy unto others who may or may not deserve it, to have a heart and soul moved by compassion for others. On this, our Lord places no restrictions or limits such as those proposed by Peter, albeit Peter was more generous than the rabbinical schools that taught three times was sufficient to forgive others (Mt. 18:21-22). Peter offered seven times: taking the rabbinical three, times two, and adding one for good measure. Thus, making his proposal of forgiving others seven times a most generous and magnanimous offering.
But, what does our Lord say to His disciple’s proposal? He says, “’I say not unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven,’” meaning without limit or without restriction Peter. One cannot put a value on mercy and compassion and forgiveness. These are precious and invaluable. “’Take heed to yourselves,’” says our Lord in another Gospel. “’If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, “I repent,” thou shalt forgive him’” (Lk. 17:3-4).
Of course, the question arises in us who have a tendency to be on the Pharisaic side of things, who are experts of the exception, “Well, what about the person who doesn’t repent, who doesn’t recognize that he or she has sinned against me? Jesus’ words appear to be only addressing those who acknowledge their transgression against another and not addressing those who do us harm without giving it another thought.”
I would contend that unless we cultivate the attitude of forgiveness or of a forgiving spirit in souls softened by the grace of mercy and compassion, we will be unlikely to forgive at any time. It is the fruit of humility and of faith in the providential care of God the King. It comes about by recognizing how terribly indebted we truly are to the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is the failure in our Lord’s parable of the soul indebted to his king far and above any hope of repayment. Repayment was an illusion fostered by his mistaken image of himself, not just when he was confronted with the stark reality at the time of the king’s reckoning, but during his entire life left unexamined by his conscience. He had failed to take stock along the way and when the king summoned him, it was well beyond his ability to pay. He had borrowed against the king’s goodness without any thought given to what he was doing, let alone the end.
This servant’s debt was incalculable, inconceivable, incomprehensible, unimaginable. So great it was that his repayment would come at the cost of his family and all that he possessed, says our Lord and King. Beloved, let us never fail to remember that our indebtedness to God is rarely, if ever, solely ours alone. It involves more than ourselves. It affects others beyond ourselves, even the Church, the Body of the Master, for we do not live in absolute isolation.
The king gives the order, and his indebted servant’s possessions were to be seized and auctioned off, his wife and children, along with himself, would either be sold off as indentured slaves or cast into the debtor’s prison. But, what does he do? He repents, at least that’s the appearance. He implores the king’s patience and vows to repay all. And what happens? A miracle occurs. The king is found to be a man pierced through with compassion and mercy. Despite his rightful claim, the king is “’moved with compassion’” and chooses to relent and relinquish his claim on his servant whom he knows full well can never ever repay him, regardless of living a thousand lifetimes! He “’loosed him and forgave him the debt,’” Jesus says. He absolved his indebted servant who had cried out to him for mercy.
Can you imagine the relief he must’ve felt? He was given a new lease on life! A fresh start! A clean slate! A new beginning! The sun appeared brighter and warmer than it had a few moments ago, the sky bluer and sharper than he could remember. He walked with verve and vigor. His heart leaped with a joy unknown before or, at least, not experienced for a long time. The weight of his burden lifted . . . . . . . gone! You would’ve thought he had just received a miraculous healing from a terminal illness.
On his way out the door from seeing the king, however, he happened onto one of his fellow servants, a soul to whom he himself had lent some money awhile ago. When he sees him you’d think he would tell him the good news he had received from the king. You would think that basking in the grace of the king’s mercy and compassion he would be a changed fellow, a new sort of soul with his burden gone and the newly found joy. But, what happens? Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he reverts to his old way. Or, maybe it wasn’t a reversion but a resumption instead, a picking up where he had left off? Maybe his repentance hadn’t truly been a repentance at all, that is, a true contrition, having come to grips with the utter immensity of his debt but was rather one born out of fear instead (2 Cr. 7:9-11)? And once the fear had been removed, he went back like a dog to its vomit or a pig to the mire (Pr. 26:11; 2 Pe. 2:20-22). This is always the danger when we are forgiven.
If this servant had owed the king a trillion dollars (who here can envision a trillion dollars?), his fellow servant before him owed him only $100 – not an obscenely insurmountable amount. And yet, what does he do? Like a mad man, he seizes his fellow servant, his brother-in-arms, his colleague, his neighbor – he seizes him by the throat and he demands from him what he himself had not been able to pay! And disregarding the exact same plea for mercy that he had prayed to the king, he had him confined to the debtor’s prison “’till he should pay the debt.’”
Other servants who had witnessed these deplorable actions that insulted the king’s majesty and graciousness afforded, reported “’all that was done.’” Beloved, the angels who keep watch over us, the demons who note our every transaction so that they may accuse us on that terrible day, and all of creation bear us witness before the great throne of the King. Immediately, the king summoned his wicked servant and chastised him for his gross misconduct. “’I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me,’” he says.
‘Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?’ And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother’s trespasses.
Life in the Kingdom of our heavenly Father is to be a perfect image of Him, a reflection of His own divine mercy and compassion so long as He grants us breath. This is what our Lord and Master, our God and King teaches us in His Sermon on the Mount. “’But I say to you,’” He says,
‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. . . . Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect. . . . Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you’ (Mt. 5:44-45, 48; 7:1-2).
And, once more, He teaches us in the Our Father,
‘For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses’ (Sr. 28:2; Mt. 6:14-15).
How we repay the immense and indescribable gift we all have been given by our Father in Heaven, our King and our God, provides evidence for whether we are spiritually fit for His Kingdom or not. It is not simply the debt load of sin accumulated over time, our many, many transgressions. It is as well the many, many blessings and mercies we receive though we are not worthy nor do we deserve them. For our God, in His mercy and His compassion, sends His rain and sunshine on both the just and the unjust alike, clearly placing us in debt to Him. He provides for all our needs. He gives us the ability to work and pay our bills. He grants us breath and length of days. All of this and more does the King of creation for us. In comparison to our neighbor, what we owe the Lord is in the gazillions. So, why do we repay the kindness of the King with wretchedness towards one another who owe each other so little by comparison?
We have been taught erroneously that a gift is a free gift, no strings attached, unconditional. But, I think we know deep down that a gift, though freely and unconditionally given, nonetheless binds us to our benefactor, obligates us to the graciousness of the gift and its giver. If you freely bestow on your husband or wife a gift given in love, you no doubt expect them to receive it with grace and to treat it accordingly. Only a truly hard-hearted soul could care less (if we are honest). If not treated accordingly, we would be disappointed, maybe even less likely to give again.
Salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, Life Everlasting, is an act of divine mercy (Jn. 3:16; Rm. 6:23). However, “it does not follow that once we are saved, if we are, that we are not seriously bound as a result” to both God and His free gift (“Simple, Binding Gifts”). We are certainly free to act as though God has no expectations of us, as does the heresy of universalism, but the end will nevertheless be Hell. When we pray, “’forgive us our trespasses [debts] as we forgive those who trespass against us [debtors]’” (Our Father), we are bound to God Himself Whose forgiveness we implore and we are bound to our neighbor who needs to be forgiven, just as we have been forgiven (Co. 3:13). Freely we have received, freely we are to give as our thank offering to God (Mt. 10:8). “[Y]ou are not your own,” says the Apostle. “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cr. 6:19, 20). “What can I give back to the Lord for all that He has given to me?,” asks the psalmist. “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord. I shall pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people” (Ps. 115 [116]:3-5). There is clearly a sense of repayment, of being indebted to the love of God bestowed upon us that is worthy of our obligation, though we can never really ever repay Him in full. And, to allay any hidden fears, we are not earning our salvation. It is already ours through Jesus Christ. We are working it out, just as the Apostle tells us to do (Pp. 2:12-13).
This forgiveness, beloved, must be, as our Lord says, from the heart. It must be true and authentic. We know true and authentic when we see it. All we need to do is watch a child who has been told to say he or she is sorry. It is either truly penitent or they cop an attitude. The heart, beloved, is a den of serpents that can only be killed by humble repentance and surrender to God. Only the pure in heart can and shall see God (Beatitudes). It is only in such a heart made clean that God abides. Beloved, let us take to heart the Wisdom of Sirach who teaches us, “Do not let your hand be extended to receive [like the wicked servant] and shut when you should repay” (Sr. 4:31; 28:2-7).
Bless the Lord, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all He has given, Who forgives all thine iniquities, Who heals all thy diseases, Who redeems thy life from corruption, Who crowns thee with mercy and compassion, Who satisfies thy desire with good things, and thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. . . . The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. . . . He did not deal our sins back to us, nor give us what our evils deserved. As far as Heaven extends over the earth, so the Lord has made His mercy extend over those who fear Him. . . . . (Ps. 102 [103]:1-22).
Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
PROPERS:
1 Cr. 9:2-12
Mt. 18:23-35