Sunday Reflection with Father Terry Tastard - 11 September 2011

Forgiveness is something that all of us have to deal with from time to time in our own lives. There are times when we need forgiveness for ourselves: we seek that word from others whom we have wronged, or we come to God and ask that he alone who can forgive sins will do so. Then there are times when we are the ones who can extend forgiveness to others, a forgiveness that sometimes comes readily, sometimes is a struggle.

Forgiveness was absolutely central to the life of Jesus. It was not only something that he taught, but also something that he lived. It was his word even on the cross. Throughout his whole active ministry, he spoke a message from the Father. The message was this: because God loves us, we are forgiven.

In today's gospel (Matt 18.21-35) the sum mentioned as owing is 10,000 talents. Biblical scholars differ in estimating its worth in today's currency, but all agree that it was a stupendous sum. What the king forgives is not something negligible: it reflects outstanding generosity. Jesus also makes it clear that the king would have been within his rights to exact his due. The king shows mercy. God, we are to understand, forgives us. Where those who love God similarly show mercy, here and now they are bringing the kingdom to life.

The psychology of the story is fascinating. The servant who has been forgiven then turns nasty towards the man who owes him money. This is understandable. The forgiven one would have a sense of a narrow escape. He would feel that he had been vulnerable because of his debt. He would want to make sure that he did not run this kind of risk again. And so he seizes his fellow servant by the throat and demands payment. This man's family end up in the debtor's prison which is where the first servant's family were destined until the king showed mercy.

Do not think that the servant who ruthlessly demands payment was a monster. His reaction is understandable. He wants to be sure of getting what is due to him so that he will not be at risk again. Which of us can be sure that in a similar circumstance we would have behaved differently? The point is that forgiveness runs contrary to our natural instinct. If someone offends you, you want them to pay for it. It seems only just.

The trouble is, we become trapped. There are several ways in which a lack of mercy can trap us. Sometimes we are trapped in a cycle of tit-for-tat, giving out to others as they give to us, and more besides. Sometimes we are trapped by a sense of guilt, knowing that we have done wrong and yearning for forgiveness. Which brings us back to the huge sum of 10,000 talents. You see, such an enormous sum could never be repaid. How could the servant ever raise such a colossal amount of money? He could not. No more, we might reflect, than we could ever atone for the colossal amount of human sin. But Jesus does what we cannot do for ourselves. He takes the burden of human wrongdoing on his shoulders when he takes up his cross. The debt, we might say, has been paid. God forgives us, because God in Christ has done what we cannot do. God takes our debts on himself and wipes them out. This generous forgiveness does not say that sin does not matter. It says, rather, that God pays the price.

It is God's nature to love. Those who love, forgive. The challenge to us is to do to others as God does to us. Sometimes we need to ask for forgiveness. Sometimes we need to extend forgiveness. God wants us to know the power of forgiving, so that we can create a world of new beginnings in freedom and peace.


Fr Terry is Parish Priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Brook Green, west London. His latest book: Ronald Knox and English Catholicism is published by Gracewing at £12.99 and is available on Amazon, on ICN's front page. To read Sr Gemma Simmonds' review on ICN see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=16114