September 17

"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?" The parable Jesus tells today is the story of a king,
but in truth it is about Jesus himself. He is the "king" who has
forgiven our debts. We are the "servants" whose sins have
earned us chastisement. But when we repent and ask for
Christ's mercy, he grants it to us without hesitation.
The point of the parable, then, is that we too should extend this
mercy to others. We should not be like that "wicked servant" who
begged for mercy but would not show it to others. Elsewhere,
Jesus teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our
debtors" (Mt. 6:12). We use different words, but a similar
meaning when we pray the Our Father asking God to "forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." But
are we sure that we mean what we say?
It's important to pause and evaluate how we are doing in this
regard. Are we harboring any grudges? Are there people we refuse
to forgive? Is there a situation where we are seeking revenge
instead of extending mercy? Jesus asks us to do otherwise. He
reminds us that we have already been forgiven. We are right now
enjoying the benefits of his forgiveness. So we are called to bear
in mind our own sins, failings, weaknesses, and "debts" when we
deal with others instead of thinking that we are perfectly innocent
and acting as if we've never been the beneficiary of mercy.
So let us do our best to forgive as we have been forgiven. This
doesn't mean approving of wrong behavior; God doesn't ask us to
do that. But he does ask us to let go of bitterness and foster mercy
instead. ©Liturgical Publications Inc