A Reflection on the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 18: 21-35

By Jerome Sabatowich

In the first two chapters of the book of the prophet Amos, we find God choosing not to punish various nations until they commit their fourth offense. God patiently forgives them on the first three occasions, but his wrath flares up after that. Since we cannot expect a human being to be more patient and merciful than God, the rabbis of Jesus’ day concluded that no one had an obligation to forgive anyone more than three times.

Peter came out of last week’s Gospel looking pretty bad, but in today’s reading he tries to repair his tattered image by asking Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother. Being a good Jew, Peter knew he could not be expected to forgive anyone more than three times.

Without waiting for Jesus’ response, Peter asks if seven times is enough. He probably was looking for a pat on the back for being merciful, and he undoubtedly wanted Jesus to praise him for his willingness to go beyond what was expected of him. Instead, Jesus goes one step further and tells him to be ready to forgive seventy times seven times. Jesus did not literally mean we should forgive others 490 times (70×7 = 490). The phrase “seventy times seven” was symbolic of a great number, meaning that we should always be ready to forgive. There must be no limit to our mercy.

Notice that the rabbis reasoned that the number of times a person should forgive is dependent on the number of times God forgives us. Since God supposedly forgives three times, humans also should forgive three times. In the parable in today’s Gospel, Jesus reverses this logic by teaching that God’s forgiveness depends on our willingness to forgive others. If we forgive those who have offended us, God also will forgive us. However, if we hold a grudge or seek revenge, we cannot expect God to show us mercy. We have to forgive before being forgiven.

For Reflection: Is there anyone who has hurt you whom you refuse to forgive? If so, carefully think of the words in Our Father. Can you still say, “and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” and not forgive that person?