Today, we hear some very important readings teaching us about the infinite power of God’s love demonstrated in one of the most important gifts of our faith: the gift of forgiveness. It’s a gift we all need and one that we all need to learn to share generously. We started our Eucharistic celebration admitting that we are all sinners and we need God’s merciful forgiveness. “Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy,” we all said together as we recognized God’s merciful love demonstrated so clearly through his son’s death on the cross. Then, we listened to the first reading that instructed us to forgive our neighbor so that, when we pray, our own sins would be forgiven. In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus teach us to forgive seventy-seven times! That’s Bible talk for always. It means every time because if you’re counting, you’re not really forgiving, you’re just keeping score.
In our fallen world where sin strains and breaks our relationships with God and one another, we will all suffer hurt and harm from others’ choices – some more grave than others. When people sin against us, we can feel real emotional pain. This is where the Catechism of the Catholic Church provides us with a very important insight when it instructs us that: “It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense, but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession” (CCC 2843).
What does that mean? Well, when we find ourselves stuck with our memories of the hurt that has been inflicted upon us, we are invited to bring that to the Lord. He, in turn, can give us the grace to look upon the person who has harmed us with compassion. As we come to recognize the brokenness likely present in their life that led to their harmful action, the Spirit moves us to pray for them. This is a powerful movement toward forgiveness and it’s very freeing.
In this light, the exhortation from our Lord today to forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times points us toward what is possible for us with God’s help. We are capable, through God’s grace, not only of forgiving once, or a handful of times, but an uncountable number of times. And, if we reflect on the patience and compassion God has shown to us, we will be more open to show patience and compassion toward others.
How is this kind of tireless forgiveness possible? Only through God’s love. We hear in today’s gospel about a king who represents God. This king, aware of the debts owed to him by his subjects, calls them in to settle accounts with them. We hear about one who is called in with a debt so large that he has no way of paying it back. That’s all of us. God, our king, has given us everything good and we have no way of repaying him for his generosity. In today’s gospel account, we hear that the king, out of his compassion for his subject, forgives his great debt – that is, until the subject refuses to forgive someone else. He does the same with us so let us learn that lesson well.
Throughout the gospels, we hear Jesus’ heart is moved with compassion as he cures the sick, feeds the hungry and teaches those who come to him. Most importantly, as he hung upon the cross, we hear Jesus cry out, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.” Today, as we celebrate the Eucharist and share in our Lord’s Body and Blood that he offered for the forgiveness of our sins, we are reconciled with one another and strengthened as we strive to continue to forgive.
As we all gather around the table of the Lord at this Eucharist, may we become the Communion we receive, abiding together in harmony through the Father’s mercy and our acts of forgiveness. Let us be grateful to God for having revealed himself to us so clearly through his son, our Lord, Jesus Christ and, in gratitude, let us always be eager to share our faith and demonstrate God’s love, especially through our forgiveness of others.