Martha Hill Jamison, St. Luke’s member, slow-to-forgiver
Matthew 18:21-35 (English Standard Version):

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant[c] fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Reflection:
Ten thousand talents! The unforgiving servant in this parable was heavily in debt. In Jesus’s time, a talent was equal to a day’s wage for a laborer. Repaying his 10,000-talent debt, then, would require more than 200,000 years of the servant’s wages. Obviously impossible. He faced harsh consequences for nonpayment. But, the king granted the servant radical, shocking, unimaginable forgiveness. He released the debt entirely!

Let that sink in. 

Jesus is not focused on the magnitude of our sinful nature. Instead, Jesus shows us what he expects of our “forgiveness nature.” Seventy times seven. We become forgivers to the extent we understand God’s forgiveness. How can we, in the face of God’s radical forgiveness, not extend mercy to those who have come, after careful consideration, to different decisions regarding the issues of the day? Where and when to wear a mask or get a vaccination? How and why to react to the weather and steward nature? How and from whom to learn the past and current struggles of our fellow human beings of different races, ethnicities, cultures, orientations, and experiences? When, why, and how (virtual or in-person) to experience church?

Why are we compelled to get in the last word?

Sometimes, bad decisions can be made by the usually-wise as well as the usually-foolish. In the parable, there is no discussion of how the servants came to be in debt. Did they spend the money to feed their families or to feed a gambling addiction? It is not ours to question. It is ours to forgive. It is ours to love. Radically.

In Kingdom work, it is more important to be loving than to be right. We all know this. C’mon, man!

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for radically forgiving my sinful nature. Help me to expand my own “forgiveness nature.” Nothing my fellowman can do is too stupid, too insensitive, too WRONG for me to forgive. You already have done so. Help me to love others as you have loved me. Amen.