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Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’ (Matthew 18:21-35)
Forgiveness. The act of letting go a hurt or offense done against us. It is a major step towards freedom and release. For if you forgive someone you are free to move forward with your life without the constraints of anger, resentment, and bitterness. It's not easy, and some people cannot forgive. Some forgive, but don't forget, which begs the question if that is true forgiveness. The Pharisees taught that three was the maximum times a Jew could forgive someone for a transgression against them. And this was widely taught at the time, for it is Peter who believes that if he doubled the three times we are taught to forgive, and to add another one, for good measure, Jesus would be impressed. He was not. "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times." Which for those days was a number beyond counting. We don't keep track of the number. Then Jesus taught the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. A king decides that he should settle accounts with his slaves and in comes a man who owed the king 10,000 talents. Some scholars believe the talent was comparable to a year's wages. Let's say that's $40,000 for you; take 40,000 and multiply it by 10,000 and you have an idea of how much this person owed this king. The king was within his rights to demand imprisonment for this man until his family could raise the money to pay him. Remember this man owes like $400 million dollars to the king; where would the family of a slave find that much money? And keep in mind that the king could sell the slave, along with the man's wife, and his children, and all his possessions. It is a frightening thought! The man falls to his knees and pleads, asking for patience, promising to pay it all back. The king, moved by pity for the man forgives the debt. In other words, he was free to go and live his life without the worry of that $400 million dollar debt. But, the story takes an interesting turn, he encounters a fellow slave who owes him a hundred denarii, and he grabs him by the throat and demands payment. The denarii is believed to be worth in today's dollars about $4.00, so this man owed him $400.00. The fellow slave pleads for patience, and the first slave denies it and throws him and his family into prison. Other slaves hear about this and report it back to the king, who calls the first slave in and says, "You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?" And the man gets thrown into prison where he would be tortured until he could pay his entire debt to the king. Jesus then says, "So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart." Ouch.
In the same way that God has forgiven us, we should forgive others. We don't keep count, we keep forgiving and loving those who cause us harm. It is a good lesson and one we should follow.
PRAYER: Loving Father, help me to forgive in the same way You forgave me. Help me to lose count and to keep my focus on loving others as You love me. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show someone mercy today.
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Request: Today is the day we remember with sadness, 9/11. Pray for peace. Pray for the comfort of those who lost loved ones in those horrible attacks on our soil. And forgive those who caused it.
