24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A – September 13,
2026
Sirach 27:30 – 28:7; Romains 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35
Theme: We Should Always Forgive our Offenders from our
Hearts and Without Limit
A. A
Brief Exegetical Analysis of Matthew 18:21-35
- Historical
and Literary Contexts
Chapter
18 of Matthew’s Gospel contains five stories, with our Gospel passage being the
final one. All the stories address relationships among church members in
Matthew’s time. Like the fourth story (vv. 15-20), our Gospel account (vv.
21-35) emphasizes the disciples' responsibilities toward members who sin yet
remain within the Church community. Immediately after our passage, Matthew
recounts Jesus’ teachings on marriage and divorce (Mt 19:1-12).
- Form,
Structure, and Movement
This
Gospel narrative, which includes a parable, is structured in three movements:
Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer (vv. 21-22); Jesus’ parable, which
illustrates his answer (vv. 23-34); and a brief interpretation of the parable
(v. 35).
- Detailed
Analysis
Vv.
21-22. Peter’s question responds to Jesus’ previous two teachings (18:10-14;
15-20), in which Jesus instructed them to seek reconciliation without limit
with those who offend them. The disciples are overly concerned about this
teaching. Now, through Peter’s question in our passage (v. 21), the disciples
want to know whether this instruction on reconciliation also applies to
forgiveness, since the two concepts are often linked.
Peter’s question here is not about being wronged
several times because Jesus has already addressed this situation in the Gospel
of Saint Luke when he said, “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke
him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in
one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive
him” (Lk 17:3-4, NABRE). In our passage, however, Peter deals with a scenario
of a one-time sin, which leaves intense pain. Although they have already forgiven
the same sin many times, they realize that they must start forgiving again
whenever they encounter the offender or simply recall the offense. Thus, his
proposed answer, “as many as seven times,” clearly suggests, “When will God be
satisfied, up to seven times?” Since “seven” in biblical tradition means
“perfection,” Peter wants Jesus to confirm that they should be perfect when
they forgive up to seven times because he does not want to continue to struggle
with forgiving those whose sins continue to hurt him. The expression, “not
seven times but seventy-seven times,” Jesus uses in his answer (v. 22), “is no
mere mathematical formula, but an appeal to unlimited forgiveness.”[1]
Vv.
23-34. Jesus illustrates his answer about unlimited forgiveness with a parable
of the unforgiving servant. This parable contrasts the vast amount (100,000
talents) that the unforgiving servant owed his master with the insignificant
amount (100 denarii; one talent being the equivalent of about 6,000 denarii)
that his fellow servant owed him.[2] His
compassionate master forgave him all his debt, but in turn, he did not forgive
his fellow servant. This parable cannot be allegorized, as doing so risks
considering God as a cruel despot, treating his servants, their wives, and
children as property to be sold.[3] Through
this parable, Jesus contrasts Divine generosity with human generosity. He then
calls his disciples to imitate Divine generosity in reconciliation and
forgiveness.
V.
35. Jesus concludes this passage by warning his disciples that if they do not
forgive their offenders from their hearts, God will not forgive them either.
- Synthesis
Peter
is concerned about seeking reconciliation with their offenders without limits,
as Jesus taught them previously (see Mt 18:10-14; 15-21). His question in our
passage suggests that Jesus might set a limit of at least seven times in their
call to forgive others. In his answer, Jesus asks them to forgive without
limits. He illustrates this with the parable of the unforgiving servant,
teaching them that God will not forgive them unless they forgive their fellow
disciples without limits.
B. Pastoral
Implications
- Liturgical
Context
Today
is the second Sunday of the Month of the Word of God. The Scripture readings we
heard focus on forgiveness. In our first reading, Ben Sira teaches us not to
hold anger against our brothers and sisters but to forgive them. In our Gospel,
Jesus calls his disciples to forgive their offenders from the heart and without
limit. Today's Psalmist sings that God is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and
rich in compassion. Let us extend the kindness and mercy we receive from God to
our brothers and sisters, because, as Saint Paul tells us in our second
reading, we do not live nor die for ourselves; we live and die for the Lord.
- What
the Church Teaches Us Today
Like
the disciples, many of us are overly concerned that Jesus asked us in last
Sunday’s Gospel to work for reconciliation without limit. Again, today, he
calls us to forgive our brothers and sisters without limit. Peter’s question
here is not about being wronged many times. Jesus addressed the situation of
being wronged several times in the Gospel of Saint Luke when he said, “Be on
your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive
him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven
times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.” (Lk 17:3-4, NABRE). In our
passage, however, Peter deals with a scenario of a one-time sin, which causes
intense pain. Although we have already forgiven the same sin many times, we
realize that we must start forgiving again whenever we meet the offender or
simply recall the offense. Thus, his proposed answer, “as many as seven times”
(v. 21), implies that Jesus indicates a limit to forgiving this kind of sin,
suggesting we should not feel obligated to forgive anymore after reaching this
point. In his response, Jesus challenges us to practice unlimited forgiveness.
Jesus
illustrates his answer with the parable of the Unforgiving Servant. This
parable teaches us that our sins against God are far more significant than the
transgressions our brothers and sisters commit against us. Therefore, because
God forgives us without limits, we should also forgive our fellow humans from
our hearts and without limits. Sirach teaches us the same thing in our first
reading. He tells us that God keeps a record of our sins, and if we seek
vengeance on our offenders, God will seek vengeance on us; but if we forgive
them, God will forgive our sins when we pray. He clarifies that we cannot
expect God to pardon us while holding a grudge against those who wronged us
(see Sir 28:1-3).
I
found at least three reasons why we should forgive our offenders from our
hearts, especially when we struggle with the pain of their sins. First, we
should forgive our offenders because forgiveness enables us to love and be
compassionate. When we cannot forgive, compassion slowly turns away, and
bitterness and vengeance take control of us. Second, we should always forgive
because forgiveness brings healing. In a scenario where the offenders are
already dead, do not realize it, or even do not care that we are suffering from
their offenses, we should not expect them to come to us and apologize. We are
the ones who need healing, not them. Therefore, we should forgive them from our
hearts to seek healing. Third, we should forgive our offenders because we all
will die one day, as Sirach tells us in our first reading (Sir 28:6), and we
need to go to heaven after our earthly lives. In our second reading, Saint Paul
invites us to belong to the Lord always, whether we live or die. Thus, to
belong to the Lord or to inherit the kingdom of God, we first need to pardon
and reconcile with our brothers and sisters.
Let
us pray for God’s grace during the liturgy of this Mass, that we may become
merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion like our God, as today’s
Psalmist sings in our Responsorial Psalm. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Jackson, MS
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
[1]
Ian Boxall, “Matthew” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First
Century, 1210.
[2]
Ian Boxall, “Matthew” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First
Century, 1211.
[3] Ian Boxall, “Matthew” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, 1211
No comments:
Post a Comment