Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

 

 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted  to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

- Matthew 18:21-35 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the disciples, "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." 

Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted  to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."  My study Bible explains about today's reading that the number given by Jesus, seventy times seven, is symbolic of an unlimited amount.  It notes that this parable illustrates the need for unlimited forgiveness.  Ten thousand talents, the sum owed to the king, is an impossible sum.  It's more than a laborer could earn in many lifetimes (according to one estimate, 200,000 years of labor).  From an earthly perspective, a hundred denarii is also a significant amount of money -- about three months' wages, but a pittance compared to the giant debt owed to the king.   But God does not just stay the punishment that would equal the debt, but forgives us the entire debt as well.  Since God forgives us, we are in turn asked to grant the gift of forgiveness to others. There is also in patristic tradition a spiritual interpretation of the punishment that is described here.  In that view, the man represents the soul, the wife represents the body, and the children represent a person's deeds.  So, therefore, the body and the deeds are given over to slavery -- that is, to Satan, so that the soul might possibly be saved (see 1 Corinthians 5:5).  

What is forgiveness?  Is it full reconciliation?  Here and in the Sermon on the Mount, in the prayer Jesus gives to us that we call "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6:9-15), Jesus likens our sins against others, as well as those committed against us, to debts, when He teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  He also uses the illustration of trespass in His admonition about forgiveness He adds afterward.  So debts, in this context, become some shortcoming of our own, some way in which we've harmed or hurt others, or sinned against them.  There are all kinds of sins and sinning that harm others, some deliberate, some even inadvertent if we are going to count a liability for something unintentional.  A careless word, harmful gossip unthinkingly repeated, unintended consequences may result in so much harm to another or to ourselves that one might consider it "owed" back for the detriment done.  So what is the cost of forgiveness?  Are we prepared to give up restitution, or what we think we're owed when there is a sin to us or to our well-being?  But let us look at the formula for correction in the Church given by Jesus in yesterday's reading (see above).  The one committing the sin is called upon to recognize what has been done; the failure to do so will result in the person being ostracized from community.  As the repeated expressions of what that means exactly given by my study Bible indicate, this last result, to be delivered  "to Satan for the destruction of the flesh" in the words of St. Paul (1 Corinthians 5:5), is not seen as punishment.  Rather it is seen as the last hope for correction and recognition of destructive behavior, the last means of coming to salvation.  It seems that the giving up of such debts for mutual forgiveness is a way of maintaining community not simply among us and between us, but under God, and as the Body of Christ.  For ultimately, everything is owed to God, the author of our lives, the Creator, the One "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).   But what of those who refuse to acknowledge their debt?  Jesus does not acknowledge that in the parable, but rather His emphasis is on forgiveness and our own failure to extend it.  Of course, coming after Jesus' teaching about mutual correction and discipline in the Church, Peter's question is really a focus on relationships with fellow faithful ("my brother").  But what of the rest of our lives, in our highly secular world?  How does one forgive when sin is not acknowledged?  What does that look like, as is so often the case?  If we think of God as the One to whom all is owed, then our extended forgiveness is a kind of contract between ourselves and God.  We don't necessarily need full communion with a person who continues to sin or trespass in some way, as is evidenced in Jesus' formula for mutual correction in the Church.  But nevertheless we are encouraged to forgive in the sense of letting go of the debt, refraining from seeking our own means of punishment.  If we're concerned about justice as a way of equalizing things, penny for penny and pound for pound, then we must take into consideration the aspect of Christ's parable that tells us clearly that this will be the work of God, and is not up to us to do ourselves.  I was once told by an attorney (who handled many inheritance cases) that the only place that justice really happens is in heaven, and this would seem to match up with Christ's parable.  What we take away from His teaching is that we forgive, even if that means we simply place our faith in God to work things out, and give us good things with which to build our lives.  Whether or not an injustice or hurt is recognized on worldly terms, we have a way to follow our faith, and exchange our debts for something better, a trust in God.   Note that in the parable the emphasis is on our initiative to forgive, and not on the failure of others to repent.  Ultimately our agreement is with Christ's heavenly Father, our first relationship of prime importance.  Let us endeavor to maintain this relationship with God as we are taught.