Reflection offered by Dcn. Michael Schlaack
Today’s parable asks us to consider a situation that, thankfully, most of us will never encounter in our modern world. Back in the first century, when someone owed their creditor money that could not be repaid on demand, the creditor had the legal right to extract payment by any effective means possible. As the parable explains, imprisonment, torture, as well as having yourself and your family sold into slavery were all options that the creditor could use to receive payment on the debt. Up until the mid-19th century in Western Europe, it was still possible to be sentenced to a term in debtors’ prison to collect unpaid debts. Fortunately, all we have worry about today is a bad credit score, which is far easier to endure than imprisonment, torture, and slavery. But the debt of our sins, which is greater than most of us can ever imagine, results in a worse punishment if left unaccounted for.
The parable that Jesus taught was in response to St. Peter’s question in the previous verses of this chapter (vv. 21, 22) concerning the number of times we must forgive. Jesus’ response, seventy-seven times, was not intended to be a literal number of times (hopefully no one is really keeping track), but rather to imply that we must always forgive, for by that same measure we, too, expect to be forgiven by God. This statement then assumes that the number of our sins is just as great, or even greater, than the transgressions that may have been committed against us, and if we want God to forgive our sins then we must be ready to forgive just as God forgives.
Something that we often do not consider is that forgiveness is a real act of mercy towards the person who offended us. We often think about mercy in terms of performing some form of tangible activity for a person that will satisfy a physical need: Providing food, clothing, or shelter. An extreme act of mercy is exhibited in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), when a total stranger went above and beyond the minimum requirements to ensure the injured man on the side of the road was adequately cared for, showing he was a true neighbor by demonstrating the level of love that God has for all of us. But sometimes the spiritual acts of mercy will reap even greater rewards for both the giver and the recipient. Material blessings will help those in need while they are in this world, but what about the next? The food, clothing, and shelter, while addressing the immediate need, will have to be provided again in the future, since things of this world do not last. However, those spiritual treasures that we add to our heavenly account cannot be used up. That is why Jesus taught us to store up those treasures in heaven rather than on earth (Matt. 16:19-21). In this way we will know where our heart belongs.
Today we commemorate a great teacher and ascetic of the Orthodox faith: St. Moses the Ethiopian, also known as St. Moses the Black. In his early life, St. Moses was the leader of a band of thieves but later turned his life to God and joined a monastery. Because of his past, St. Moses was keenly aware of the importance of forgiveness, since he knew that he had been forgiven by God for the multitude of sins he committed in his previous life as a thief. One incident that illustrates the need for forgiveness can be seen in the following account:
“A brother at Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which Abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to say to him, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you.’ So, he got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said to him, ‘What is this, Father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” (From: Saint Moses the Black – Orthodox Road; retrieved 08/25/22).
From this account we can see the need for self-reflection whenever we want to sit in judgement of some else. If we take the time to look behind ourselves, considering the sins we committed in the past as well as the forgiveness we received, it would be difficult to condemn someone else for the same sin.
The Unmerciful Servant in today’s lesson failed to take the time to look back and remember the extreme mercy he received from his Master. The extent of the sin against the Unmerciful Servant is “small potatoes” when you consider the magnitude of forgiveness he received. And instead of passing that blessing on by showing some mercy to his debtor, he took the extreme measure of not only punishing the debtor but his entire family as well. This certainly demonstrates how radical we can be when it comes to our lack of mercy towards those who have trespassed against us. Sometimes it not enough to satisfy our need for revenge by simply going after the sinner; we extend our animosity to the innocent as well. We have all heard about “blood feuds,” where the hatred generated by a single incident can be carried on for several generations into the future. This not only hurts the hated but the hater as well. By being so consumed by some act of injustice that occurred years ago to people who hardly knew just shows how all-consuming the lack of forgiveness can be. To deliver judgement on future generations for past sins is certainly not something we would want anyone—much less God—to do to us. Somewhere along the line there needs to forgiveness to break the chain.
Retrospect means to “look back.” God is expecting us to look back at the forgiveness He gives each of us for the innumerable sins we commit against our neighbors, and then forgive those who sin against us. When we consider the mercy shown to us by our Heavenly Father, we should not ever hesitate to extend that same level of mercy and forgiveness to our neighbors. The lesson we need to take to heart today is very simple and is summed up in the final verse from today’s Gospel reading: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matt. 18:35).
None of us want to suffer the same punishment that was received by the Unmerciful Servant, so we should always forgive as we would want God to forgive us. Taking the time to look back at our sins as well as the mercy we receive should cause us to want to extend that same mercy to our brothers and sisters. This love that we show will mark us as true followers of Christ, for it is by our love for one another that we are set aside from the rest of the world (John 13:35).