Gospel: Matthew 18:21–19:1
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
his brother from his heart.”
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
But
the irony is this: the servant who was forgiven by his master did not forgive
his fellow servant, who owed him only a small amount of money. Something was
terribly wrong with him. He had received mercy, yet he was unwilling to show
mercy. He had been forgiven a much greater debt, yet he could not forgive a
much smaller one. Sadly, he failed to allow the grace he had received to
transform his heart.
Is
this sometimes true in our own lives? We come before God with humble and
contrite hearts, asking Him to forgive our sins. We experience the healing and
freedom that His mercy brings. Yet when someone hurts us, offends us, or wrongs
us, we sometimes find it difficult to extend the same forgiveness that we have
freely received from God.
Do
we truly take advantage of the grace of forgiveness that God graciously gives
us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? God's desire for us is not merely
that we receive His mercy but that we also become instruments of His mercy. We
are called to forgive others as we have been forgiven—to release the offenses
committed against us and entrust our hurts to God, just as God has forgiven the
countless offenses we have committed against Him.
Forgiveness,
however, does not mean that what was done to us was right, nor does it mean
that our pain was insignificant. Forgiveness means that we refuse to allow
anger, resentment, and bitterness to control our hearts. When we choose not to
forgive, we may think that we are holding someone else captive because of what
they have done to us, but in reality, we may be imprisoning ourselves. We carry
the burden, lose our peace, and prevent our hearts from experiencing the
freedom that God desires for us.
Let
us therefore allow the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts. Let us remember the
mercy we ourselves have received. Every time we kneel before God and hear those
beautiful words of absolution, we are reminded that His mercy is greater than
our sins. May the forgiveness we receive from God never stop with us. May it
flow through us and touch those who have hurt us.
We
have everything to gain and nothing to lose when we choose to forgive and
become more forgiving. When we forgive, we do not lose; rather, we make room for
God's peace, healing, and grace to work more deeply within us.
Today, let us bring before the Lord the name
of the person who has hurt us most deeply. Can we surrender that pain to Him
and take one step toward forgiveness? If God has forgiven us countless times
and continues to welcome us with mercy, are we willing to open our hearts and
extend that same mercy to someone who desperately needs our forgiveness?—Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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