Gospel Lectio Divina for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 17, 2023
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
READ
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.' Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! 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?' Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."
MEDITATE
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened . . .”
Whenever Jesus tells us what the kingdom of heaven is like, my ears perk up because I am very curious about heaven. We have no definitive evidence that it exists; our faith is the greatest evidence. People have died for their belief that heaven exists and that Jesus is the way we get there. But what is it like? It seems like a very preposterous proposition for the faith to require that we live for a place we aren’t even sure exists. But Jesus gives us these analogies and allegories here and there in the Gospels. This parable is about the administration of justice to a debtor who did not show mercy toward someone who owed him money, even though he was shown mercy by the one to whom he owed money. The whole affair seems very worldly; considering its dealings with money and all. I was always under the impression that money wouldn’t matter in heaven. But here is Jesus using it in a parable to describe what heaven is like. What is Jesus getting at?
Money may not exist in heaven (I don’t know, maybe there is some form of it there), but one thing is for certain: There will be justice in heaven. Jesus uses particular things—or accidentals—to explain universal, eternal, transcendental realities like justice.
But there still seems to be a problem. The first debtor’s behavior seems sinful. Is Jesus saying there will be sinful behavior in heaven? What is more, if we read on, we even see how the master condemns the ungrateful servant to torture. Will there be torture in heaven? One may be tempted to say, if justice is upheld then there must be sin and torture. If there were no sin, in what cases would we need to administer justice? I tried venturing into the question about ‘torturers’, but my mind began straying down a path where I saw no return. How can heaven be anything like the incident described in this parable?
When Jesus says ‘the kingdom of heaven is like’ or ‘can be likened to’ such and such, he isn’t always describing the way things happen in heaven. In fact, more often than not, he describes it as an anomaly. He is usually explaining how it stands out from worldly things, like a pearl of great price or a precious coin. He explains how the kingdom of heaven is within us, and in order for it to flourish we need to act differently than the world expects us to act. In that light, we can see how the administration of justice in this Sunday’s parable suggests a radical act of mercy, followed by punishment for not showing that same mercy to others. We ought to glean from this the reality that God has shown us mercy, but he will revoke that mercy if we do not forgive those who have sinned against us.
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”
Last week we read about reprimanding our brother when he sins against us, and this week we read about forgiving him seventy times seven times if he sins against us. What is going on here? Perhaps Jesus is implying that, even though we ought to call out our brother one-on-one when he sins against us, we are still personally called to forgive him. This presents an interesting dynamic between forgiveness and sin. We are not condoning the sin when we forgive someone of it. We are not letting it slide. In fact, last week Jesus made it very clear that he wants us to bring it up with our brother and try to resolve it. He even went on to say that if the matter could not be resolved through a one-on-one discussion, then we should bring another friend or family member or two into the conversation. Jesus is very keen on reconciliation, but in order for someone to receive reconciliation they must be courageous enough to acknowledge their sin. They can only be forgiven of their sin if they acknowledge it, and sometimes it takes a loved one to show them their fault. But often, in today’s culture, we think that we can quietly forgive someone of their sins by simply not mentioning them at all. Indeed, we should refrain from mentioning our brother’s sin to others before talking to him about it first. But to keep quiet about it completely is helping no one. That is why it is important that this Gospel passage follows last week’s. When we address someone directly about their sins, it is important to forgive them at least in our own hearts. The hope is that our forgiving heart will make our brother a little more accepting of our reprimand. It may be hard at first, but when done right our brother will see that we are addressing his sin out of love. If we guide the conversation with a forgiving heart, we may even get our brother to ask forgiveness from God and us. So, we can be forgiving while also addressing our brother’s wrongdoing. The key is to know God’s mercy for us so that our own merciful heart addresses our brother out of love. When we see how God has forgiven us, it is then easier to forgive others. That bottomless well of mercy has the power to forgive seventy times seven times, but that mercy—the mercy of God—also has the power to forgive while not condoning the sin. When we are imbued with God’s love, we are given the grace to notice the difference.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?
Jesus is making it clear that a forgiving heart is necessary in our attempts to reconcile matters with our brother, whether he sinned against us or simply owes us money. This means we have to be understanding of his own struggles, and keep in mind that they may be just as hard or even harder than our own. It is hard to truly love someone, because in order to do so we must know them well. We must know what moves them, what hurts them, what they enjoy, what they hate. Every person’s heart has a unique geography. To love someone well, we have to know how to navigate through their heart while avoiding the treacherous terrain, and how to get to the parts that are full of life. Even the driest heart will have an oasis or two hidden somewhere.
PRAY
Dear Lord,
Thank you for your mercy. Please continue to forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who have trespassed against me. I do not know justice better than you do. I only see it from my own perspective. But you know exactly when to be merciful and when to condemn. Spare me from your condemnation, Lord. And show me your mercy. Give me the courage and diligence to go to confession as soon as possible, and to remain in your graces for as long as possible as I avoid the near occasion of sin. You are a good and compassionate God. The last thing I want is to test your mercy. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
LISTEN
We are quick to listen when Jesus offers us God’s mercy, but do we heed the warnings of his condemnation? As he often does, Jesus ends his teaching today on a note that is hard to hear. Are we listening? Am I possibly the one who is living an unforgiving life? Do I hold bitterness toward anyone? I need to reconcile myself with that person before receiving Christ. To receive Christ at the altar is to assume his mercy. Have I shown mercy to others before expecting his mercy? This is why it is important to listen to the Gospel to the very end. The portent Jesus gives at the end is very potent, and we’d be wise to listen.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report. He received his undergrad degree in humanities and Catholic culture from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to working with the Knights of the Holy Eucharist (knights.org), he has served as a journalist for Princeton Packet Publications, and the Trenton Monitor, the magazine for the Diocese of Trenton. Some of his published work can also be found in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Herald (UK), and Catholic World Report. For the latter he is managing editor. Find more of his writing at ramblingspirit.com
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