Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 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]
At parish missions, I ask the congregation the question, "How many times in your life have you prayed the Our Father? Of course, no one would venture an answer. I then point out one of the lines that says, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us!" How forgiving are we? This prayer, as recounted in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6;10-13), is followed by these words: "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." Then we can fast-forward to chapter 18 in this same Gospel According to Matthew to the parable in today's scripture passages, which is called "the Unforgiving Servant."
The setting begins with the question, "How often must I forgive?" Jesus rejects a formulaic number. The answer is basically, "over and over again." The second question, which logically might come first, is "Do I have to forgive?" The answer is that God forgives when we do. This is why I use an examination of conscience that focuses on the need to forgive various people in our lives rather than on particular acts. The Sacrament of Reconciliation does not end with sacramental absolution of sin. We must act on our "firm purpose of amendment." Justice is part of forgiveness, too. Maybe the other party is unwilling to accept reconciliation or they may be deceased. But when reconciliation is possible, we are called to attempt it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes this effort more important than formal worship. "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother or sister has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift." (Matt. 5:23-24)
At one parish mission, the day after the Reconciliation Service, an elderly gentleman approached me and thanked me for that examination of conscience. He said, "I was, at last, able to forgive my mother!!!!" His experience could be ours as well this Lent. AMEN