Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 22, 2022 - 3rd Week of Lent - Tues
[Dan 3:25, 34-43 and Matt 18:21-35]"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 or sister from your heart." [Matthew]
Before reading the entire gospel scripture today from the Gospel According to Matthew - the parable of the Unforgiving Servant - I recommend highly to the reader to go first to Matthew 6:14-15 (and even to the words just preceding those two verses - the Lord's Prayer): If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. These words are echoed at the end of the parable. Earlier in the same chapter as the parable, Jesus outlines an entire process of reconciliation. [Mt. 18:15-17] And earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches: Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother or sister has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. I think we can safely conclude that forgiveness and reconciliation are definitely part of Jesus' expectation of us as baptized Christians!!!
I use the parable of the Unforgiving Servant in preaching at the penance service that is part of any parish mission. I ask the congregation how often they have prayed the "Our Father." This gets me a chuckle but then I call attention to the line: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us! I follow this with an examination of conscience that focuses on the need to forgive and ask for forgiveness beginning with God, the self, family, friends, co-workers, etc.. The impact is considerable, as the confessions that follow indicate. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is just the beginning of the process of reconciliation, not the end. Its purpose is not just so we can "go to communion." Notice above what Jesus says about reconciliation before worship!!
Forgiveness is one of the toughest challenges of Christianity. But Jesus didn't simply preach it, he practiced it: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. {Luke 23:34] Those words are spoken from the cross! If Lent is meant to prepare us to recall in Holy Week what Jesus has done for us, a new resolution (and action) to follow his command to forgive may be one of the best preparations we could make! AMEN
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