THE REASON TO FORGIVE

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

(Sirach 27:30—28:7, Rm 14:7—9, Mt 18:21—35)

1. The readings of today urge us to forgive one another. We must remember that Jesus was inserting His teaching on forgiveness within a culture that believes in “eye for eye” (Ex 21:21, Lev 24:20, Dt 19:21). If we follow this law, all of us here would have been blind by now. Revenge or retaliation displaces God’s forgiveness in human relations, and makes it difficult for the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection to be made manifest in our interactions with one another. So Jesus condemns this law in Mt 5:38ff "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also...”                                                

2. Having listened to Jesus, Peter tried to upgrade this standard of an eye for an eye promoted by the Pharisees by asking, “How often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as 7 times? Why did he choose 7? It was because the Jews understood seven as a number that represented completeness or perfection: God completed His creation and rested on the 7th day; Noah took the animals into the ark by sevens (Gen 7:2) and 7 days after Noah went into the ark, the flood came; the Israelites marched round the city of Jericho 7 times. On the 7th day, the completed their marching by going round the city 7 times; Elisha asked Naaman to bath 7 times at the river Jordan to complete his cure; Jesus spoke 7 words from the Cross; the apostles ordained 7 deacons, etc.

So Peter was speaking from his own cultural understanding since seven represented completeness in Jewish tradition. Since he was speaking from his cultural background, he was speaking from the depth of his humanness—from his situation as man who feels the pinch of forgiveness. Hence, Peter’s question is saying that there should be a time when forgiveness is enough—complete—when one can no longer bear it.

3. But Jesus has a different understanding of forgiveness; He offers a new standard. He said to Peter, “Not seven, but seventy-seven times.” In a sense he was saying to Peter, you don’t stop forgiving until you yourself have reached completeness or perfection. And our perfection is in Christ Jesus. So Christ becomes the measure and reason for forgiveness.

We see how this played out in that story. God the Father is that mighty King, whom we, his servants, are indebted to through our sins and, we have no means of paying back. What can we offer to the Lord to appease Him? Our sins condemn us; we deserve damnation (If you Oh Lord should mark our guilt, who would survive Ps 130:3). But God, in His mercy and compassion, declared us free by allowing Christ bear the burden of our sins on the Cross.

4. Having received such mercy from God, we are bound to show forgiveness to one another. We learn from the story that forgiveness is sacred because it comes from and made possible by God’s grace—it is what we learn from our interaction with God, by being His servants. It is not based on human life or culture or power; not even on the pain we felt when offended. The Cross is our reason to forgive (2Cor 5:18—20).

Therefore, forgiveness is a way of appreciating what we first received from God through Jesus Christ. This entails that we must first absorb within us, through prayer and meditation, the forgiveness we receive, the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection. Another way of appreciating it is by frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.

Then we will come to discover that to forgive is a vocation; a call to imitate the King and to spread the good news of what the King has done for us. It is a way of spreading the Good News of the Cross. It brings us peace and joy, and enables us to enjoy the freedom of the Children of God. Forgiveness makes our heart like the heart of Jesus. So when we forgive, we are not so much doing favour to the other person as much as accumulating and solidifying within us God’s mercy and love.

Jesus is our reason to forgive; it is His forgiveness that we dish out to others. By not forgiving, we are at once rejecting God’s forgiveness. May God give us the grace to receive His forgiveness with generosity of heart and show the same mercy and pardon to our brothers and sisters.

Fr. Jude Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

St. Anthony’s Parish,

Jabi, Abuja,

Nigeria.

September 11, 2011.