Forgiveness

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’

- Matthew 18:21-35

After Jesus' talk on relationships in the church (see the past two readings of Thursday and Friday), Peter asks Jesus an important question opened up by the teaching: "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus responds, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times."

Jesus then goes on to tell the parable of the slave who asked for forgiveness from the king, but who would not in turn forgive the debt of his fellow slave. Ten thousand talents is an enormous sum of money, more than a laborer could possibly earn in a lifetime. This is contrasted to the hundred denarii owed by the fellow slave, which is equivalent to about a hundred days' wages. My study bible notes that in this story, Jesus portrays sin as a debt to God, "a debt originated by neglecting God's will." I think the notion of debt here is worth exploring a little more. Presumably we owe this king everything: our very lives and all that we have, as illustrated by the story. We can never pay back what we owe. The king is reckoning his books; his slaves have been given time to pay the debt, and it's time "to settle accounts." The slave begs, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” He needs more time. "And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt." We recall Jesus' teachings about fruitfulness. So much has been invested in us; the word as seed takes root and we become fruitful according to the good soil of our hearts and our capacities for bearing fruit. We've been given a gift, and time to produce returns. We ask for mercy, for more time, and love and mercy continually are granted when we ask. This is the sign of repentance, that we care, that we open the door always to relationship with this king.

Then we come to the part in the story where the forgiven slave demands a debt be paid that is owed to him by a fellow-slave. "Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt." The first slave has already been forgiven for his debt by the king, and yet seeks to make his fellow-slave pay - even throwing him into prison when he cannot immediately do so. What does it mean to "throw into prison" those who cannot pay us what they owe? What do others owe us who've caused offense to relationship or sinned against us? I think it is important to think about this metaphor of debt: forgiveness means we don't seek retribution, equal payment. The open door of repentance, the asking for mercy, is the equivalent of requesting time to which we must respond with mercy. Jesus yesterday illustrated to the apostles (and the rest of us who seek to follow him) what it is to practice proper discipline in church. Repentance is met with forgiveness. The door is then always open to full relationship. Just as none of the rest of us can possibly pay what we owe to this king, to the full extent of the gifts we have been given, so we must extend to others that door that is open to forgiveness via repentance. Jesus teaches us here that our failure to do so will be held against us: we will receive in turn what we are willing to give. So the notion of linking sin to debt continues -- what we can forgive will also be forgiven us. "Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

For me, the issue arises immediately of abuse. What about those who claim they owe us nothing for a sin or offense or harm? Who do not ask for mercy but rather would return an accusation and deal falsely? I think it's important to discern the difference between forgiveness of a debt that is acknowledged and one that is not acknowledged. In both cases, the debt is owed - but in one case the intention to repay the debt is absent. In this case, I think forgiveness works by simply not expecting it to be paid. We recall in Jesus' discourse from yesterday, there are those who will not repent. But these we simply cast away from us: there is still no retribution nor payment to seek. The settler of accounts is the king.

My study bible notes, "The love of God is manifested in paying off the debt, a remission or letting go of sins. Because God forgives us, we in return are obliged to grant this gift of forgiveness to others. When each Christian forgives 'from his heart,' true reconciliation and healing come to the Church by God's grace." That's an important key phrase, "forgiveness from the heart." Jesus teaches, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." We recall that the heart is the center of all that a person is, the place where we store what we love and keep, and the place from which we discard what we do not love. So the heart is the place of forgiveness. The heart is where we make real what's truly a part of ourselves.

A friend of mine sent me a quotation via email today by coincidence, from Thomas Merton. (Thank you, Carol.) Merton wrote (in New Seeds of Contemplation), "The root of Christian love is not the will to love, but the faith that one is loved. The faith that one is loved by God." Yesterday we're taught that this Shepherd will leave the flock to search for even one lost sheep. Today we're taught that even as single individuals, we enjoin in that relationship with this king so that we must be like him. As we are loved, so should we love; as we are forgiven, so should we forgive. There is a great deal of wisdom in Thomas Merton's words. If we have faith in God's love for us, so we have faith in that love that we can practice. We know of the incarnation of Christ, the life of Jesus, the tremendous gift we receive in these Gospels and so much more through grace. Can we understand how to practice what we learn from how we are loved?