September 11, 2011
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 18:21-35
Gospel Summary
Today's gospel selection is taken from a section of Matthew's gospel
that is concerned with the dynamics of a truly Christian community. It is fairly
certain that Matthew's gospel was written for the church at Antioch, where there
were deep divisions between the more conservative Jewish Christians and the more
liberal Gentile converts. Peter is featured in this gospel because he was the
leader at Antioch who was able to hold these factions together by insisting on
the importance of tolerance and reconciliation.
In such a difficult situation, forgiveness becomes a major issue. Jesus
tells Peter that we must be ready to forgive others "seventy-seven times," which
really means, endlessly. And the parable that follows is intended to illustrate
exactly how forgiveness must function in a loving community. It does not come
simply from the goodness of one's heart. It is possible only when one becomes
aware of having oneself been forgiven. It is a splendid gift that has been first
received and is then passed on to others. The unforgiving servant of the gospel
story is condemned precisely because he refused to forgive a tiny debt after
having been forgiven immeasurably.
Life Implications
The Bible is very realistic about human nature. Every child is born
yearning for approval and desperate for affirmation. Ir is a tragedy when that
love ad affirmation is not available. It is only affectionate touches and gentle
words that enable an infant to reach out to the world in confidence and trust.
Such loving affirmation continues to be needed all through life and the person
who, through a misguided notion of self-sufficiency, claims to be beyond all
that, is condemned to a twilight existence of feigned independence.
An important part of this loving affirmation is the readiness to forgive
the mistakes and faults of others. Such readiness comes from an awareness of
having been forgiven for one's own faults. Moreover, this forgiveness is not
limited to sinful behavior but extends to limitations of all kinds, which means,
in effect, forgiveness for not being perfect! For these limitations of nature
are also very burdensome and we need the help of compassionate and forgiving
people to lift that weight from our shoulders.
It is important to understand what forgiveness does not mean. It does
not imply that a fault or sin does not matter. Nor does it mean that the offense
is forgotten, for that is often impossible. Rather, it means freely choosing to
overlook an offense because one is free to do so, having been loved and forgiven
oneself.
There can be no real Christian community without such an exchange of
love. The seriousness of this challenge is expressed in the strong words of
Jesus indicating that our present unwillingness to forgive will guarantee a
harsh judgment at the end. If we are wise, therefore, we will take great pains
to be lenient and compassionate toward others rather than self-righteous and
hard-hearted, so that we may look forward to meeting a lenient and compassionate
divine judge when our own lives are evaluated.
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
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