1st Reading – Sirach 27:30-28:7
Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.
Sirach is one of the books accepted as canonical by Catholics but not by Protestants. It was originally written in Hebrew in the 2nd century BC and then translated into Greek by the original author’s grandson. As today’s reading demonstrates, it is a work of wisdom literature.
This passage teaches exactly the same connection between forgiving and being forgiven that Jesus teaches today’s gospel reading.
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The very first verse sets the tone of the passage by calling out the destructive nature of anger and wrath.
While it’s instinctive and even inevitable to feel these emotions in response to certain situations, it is wrong to cling to them.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.
The author warns against seeking vengeance. Instead, we must rely on divine justice and accountability, trusting God to hold individuals responsible for their actions.
The only circumstance under which God “remembers sins in detail” is when the sinner does not repent of those sins.
Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
There is a direct connection between showing mercy and forgiveness to others and receiving mercy and forgiveness from God.
Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins?
The author emphasizes his point by posing rhetorical questions that highlight the inconsistency of one who withholds forgiveness while seeking healing from the Lord for themselves.
This healing is the moral sense of forgiveness (see Isaiah 6:10, Jeremiah 3:22).
This exhortation does not appeal to generosity of soul or the desire for an orderly society — both valid underpinnings — but our own need to be forgiven.
We have all wronged others at some point. If we’re unwilling to forgive those who’ve wronged us, how can we expect forgiveness for our own mistakes?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?
Note the vivid language: the vengeful “cherish” their wrath and “hug tight” their anger.
Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Death is inevitable. This certainty should cause us to put aside any enmity and focus on being faithful to God.
Life is too short to carry toxic attitudes.
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.
Sirach places this teaching within the context of covenant love, which includes God’s promise to love and save. God always loves, is always willing to forgive, and always wants to save.
As partners with God and with one another in the covenant, we must be willing to offer others the same gracious compassion that God has shown us.
2nd Reading – Romans 14:7-9
Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
This week we end our study of Paul’s letter to the Romans with a powerful message about our relationship with God and our responsibility to one another as members of a Christian community.
It also encourages us to live our lives in a manner that honors Christ.
Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Our lives are not ours. God created us, and Christ redeemed us through his death and resurrection. Therefore, “we are the Lord’s,” committed to him in life and death.
“The saints, therefore, do not live and do not die for themselves. They do not live for themselves because, in all that they do, they strive for spiritual gain: by praying, preaching, and persevering in good works, they seek the increase of the citizens of the heavenly fatherland. Nor do they die for themselves because men see them glorifying God by their death, hastening to reach him through death” (Pope St. Gregory V: In Ezechielem homiliae, II, 10).
For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
By virtue of his salvific death and resurrection, Christ exercises the same power over life and death as God the Father. Whether we live or die, we belong to Christ and are accountable to him.
This understanding is the bedrock of Christian ethics. For Christians, there is no radical individualism or self-fulfillment independent of Christ. Christ has triumphed over death and now holds authority over all.
Gospel – Matthew 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife,
his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
This week we continue to read Jesus’ discourse on how to handle community problems.
In this passage, Jesus challenges us to extend forgiveness generously, in a way that reflects the boundless love and grace we have received from God.
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?
Recall from our reading last week that Jesus has just outlined the reconciliation process his disciples should use “if your brother sins against you” (Matthew 18:15). Peter understands the message that God’s disciples must be ready to forgive, just as God forgives…. but he wants to know how often he should forgive.
The word used for brother is adelphós, which literally means “brother” but can also indicate a fellow believer of a religious community, which is how it’s used here.
As many as seven times?”
Peter’s question indicates a desire to be generous in forgiving. There wasn’t a universally agreed-upon rule in Jewish culture regarding the exact number of times forgiveness should be extended, but seven almost certainly went well beyond any rabbinic teaching of the time.
The number seven also holds significance in Jewish culture as a symbol of completeness or fullness.
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
Peter probably expected a warm commendation from Jesus for his suggestion to forgive as many as seven times. Instead, Jesus teaches that we should forgive seventy-seven times!
In Hebrew, the number seventy-seven carries a symbolic meaning of “always”, i.e., without limit, infinite (see Genesis 4:24). That is why some translations render this verse as “seventy times seven,” reinforcing the idea of limitless forgiveness.
Jesus is contrasting humankind’s ungenerous, calculating approach to forgiveness with God’s infinite mercy. Forgiveness should be given without measure, not limited by a specific number.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
Jesus uses a parable to reinforce his point. It is one of the sternest passages in the gospels.
When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
According to the original Greek text, the huge amount owed is ten thousand talents. A talent was 6,000 denarii, and a denarius was a working man’s daily wage. This is 60 million days’ — over 191,000 years’ — wages.
This amount isn’t just huge, it’s astronomical.
Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
The severity of this debt is also reflected in the extreme consequences the debtor faces: not only would he be sold into some form of servitude or slavery, but his family as well. This sounds harsh to us, but selling someone’s freedom to settle a debt was a relatively common practice in the ancient world.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
Moved with compassion (splanchnízomai), the king not only accepts his extremely unrealistic promise of repayment, but forgives the entire debt.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.
The original Greek states that the second debtor owed one hundred denarii, only 1/600,000th of the first man’s debt, about 100 days’ wages.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
The second man’s response mirrors the first’s: both kneel and plead for patience using the same words. Neither of them requested forgiveness of the debt; they both vowed to repay it.
The important distinction between them is the magnitude of the debt: the amount the second man owed could realistically be repaid.
But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.
The striking contrast between the king’s mercy and the first debtor’s lack of compassion is compounded by the huge disparity in the amounts they were owed.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’
This question encapsulates the point of the entire parable.
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.
Furious at the forgiven servant’s unmerciful behavior, the king orders the forgiven servant to be imprisoned and tortured until he can repay the original debt, which is impossible.
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”
Jesus concludes the parable with a stern warning. If we are unwilling to show mercy, the mercy already shown us will be revoked, with severe consequences.
This might seem incongruous with Jesus’ earlier statement to Peter that our willingness to forgive must be limitless. Would God really withdraw his forgiveness and have us tortured?
God’s mercy is indeed boundless, but when we withhold forgiveness from another, we separate ourselves from God’s forgiveness. This isn’t because God is unwilling to forgive, but because we are. That is the lesson of this parable.
Jesus had already taught his followers this connection between giving forgiveness and receiving it when he taught them how to pray: “… and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). To fail to forgive is a kind of torture, but it is self-inflicted.
God is always willing to forgive, and so we, who have already received that forgiveness, must stand ready to forgive as well.
“Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you, from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them is as nothing compared with what God has pardoned you” (Saint Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 452).
Connections and Themes
Forgiving. Forgiving someone who has offended us can be extremely difficult because it often involves issues of personal honor and/or a sense of being threatened on some level. These emotions run deep and can stir a desire for retaliation and vengeance. Most people would understand or even encourage such a response; however, seeking revenge is a worldly desire. As followers of Christ, we are called to a different response.
Being forgiven. Today’s readings provide yet another example of Christians being called to give what they have been given. The gospel reading in particular teaches us that nothing anyone owes us can compare with what we owe God. If we cannot forgive others as many times as God has forgiven us, perhaps we haven’t been transformed — or transformed enough — by God.
For some, the process of becoming a forgiving person takes a lifetime. Only gradually can we see the pettiness of our indignation, only gradually does our need for retaliation subside. Maybe we require forgiveness seventy-seven times before we can offer forgiveness even once, but as disciples, we are called to extend the same forgiveness we have received.
Pay what you owe. If forgiveness seems like letting offenders off easy, we must remember that God’s justice will ultimately prevail. Scripture makes it clear that any unwillingness to forgive on our part is sinful in itself, and we become liable to the same judgment as those whom we refuse to forgive.
The consequences of harboring resentment and withholding forgiveness are not limited to the spiritual realm. These negative emotions can bore themselves deeply into our consciousness and become an obsession. In the long run, as difficult as it may be, forgiving others is much easier than carrying a vengeful mindset throughout life.
When we forgive, we truly begin to be healed.
Sunday Readings 