A Word for the Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost

Today, beloved brothers, the Gospel parable of the Savior was read, in which He, the Lord our God, likened the Kingdom of Heaven, or His righteous judgment over people, to a king «who wished to settle accounts with his servants; and when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But since he had nothing with which to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying: master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying: pay me what you owe! So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying: have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him: you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you, if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses (Mt 18:23-35). I have repeated the whole Gospel reading, so that you might remember it better.

Not to our credit, today’s Gospel depicts the extreme hardheartedness and malice of the human heart toward our neighbors. From the very time when people, through sin, gave themselves over to the chief of malice, the devil, he has woven for himself a firm nest in their hearts, planting in it his own hellish malice, which he has, ever since, quite often displayed in very crude and violent forms. Biblical and secular history, and the news of our own day, are full of examples of this malice and hardheartedness, whether out of greed, out of a desire to seize a neighbor’s property by force, or out of wounded pride, out of wild caprice, out of unsatisfied animal desire; many people, and not at all rarely, do not hesitate to plunge a knife into a neighbor’s heart or throat, or in some other way to take his life—not to mention quarrels, disputes, abuse, lawsuits, and other expressions of human malice.

Let us turn our attention to the conduct of the hardhearted creditor mentioned in today’s Gospel. He himself owed his master an enormous sum, which he could never have paid him, and, by the justice of the country, he was to be sold, with his wife and children and all his property, to pay even part of the debt. A misfortune beyond which there could be none greater. The debtor began to beg the king for forgiveness—and he was forgiven. One would think he ought to remember such unexampled mercy, and show a like mercy, when the occasion arose, to his neighbor. But the occasion with his neighbor revealed the bad side of the forgiven debtor, his extreme malice and hardheartedness: no sooner had he received the greatest mercy from the king than he met a fellow servant who owed him a most trifling sum of money, and at once fell upon him in fury, seized him by the throat, and said to him: pay me what you owe. The other begs him to have patience. The creditor will not, and throws him into prison. Is this not extreme hardheartedness? Is this not the height of callousness and ingratitude? And to this very many of us are, alas, quite inclined and quite capable. We are sometimes extremely harsh in dealing with our neighbors who owe us anything, whenever the opportunity presents itself! Yes, our nature is extremely prone to evil and to taking justice into its own hands, or to settling matters by our own judgment—probably because this satisfies our pride and ill nature more quickly and more easily than the established courts do. But this ought not to be so with us, who are Christians, reborn in the font of baptism by water and the Holy Spirit, adopted as sons of God, and who have received from God grace, or heavenly help, toward every virtue; we ought to cultivate in ourselves a spirit of meekness, humility, freedom from malice, patience, and long-suffering, and moderation in all our conduct. And in order to have such a disposition of spirit within us, we must remember our common human weakness, our common inclination to sin—especially our own great infirmities and sins—and God’s boundless mercy toward us, which has forgiven, and forgives, us many grievous sins, for our repentance and supplication.

Yes, the very feeling of gratitude to God for His countless mercies toward us obliges us to be forbearing and merciful toward our neighbors, who are of one flesh and blood with us and share the same weaknesses, passions, and stumblings. But the greatest motive of all for our forbearing and gentle dealing with our neighbors ought, of course, to be the extreme condescension of the Son of God toward us, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate and became man—His example, His commandments and counsels, His meekness and freedom from malice toward sinners, His long-suffering, His sufferings and death for us all. If He laid down His soul for us, we too ought to lay down our souls for one another (1Jn 3:16), says the Apostle. Another Apostle says: be kind to one another, merciful, not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult, bearing with one another in love (1Pet 3:8-9). The Lord says to us: «I desire mercy, and not sacrifice» (Mt 9:13). He, the all-merciful One, desires mercy from us too—mercy, freedom from malice, and patience toward our neighbors; and He Himself, too, is always ready to help us in every good deed. If your heart is evil, ask in repentance that He soften your heart, make it meek and patient, and it will become so. He says to us: my son, give Me your heart. Nothing is impossible for one who believes and prays sincerely. Only resolve—resolve firmly—to abandon your malice. From the very outset, every rising passion must be bridled in ourselves, especially malice and anger, and the spark must not be allowed to become a fire, which is, of course, far harder to put out than a single spark. So let me bring this word to a close: let us forgive our neighbors, from the soul, their offenses against us, remembering our common weakness, our infirmity, our sinfulness, and God’s boundless mercy toward us. Amen.