The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost (1 Cor. 9:2–12; Mt. 18:23–35)

The Lord concluded the parable of the two debtors with these words: ”So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Mt. 18:35). It seems such a small thing is required: forgive, and you will be forgiven; and when forgiven, you are received into favor; and when received into favor, you become a partaker of all the treasures of mercy. That means salvation, paradise, and eternal blessedness. And what a great gain for something so small—that we should forgive! Yes, it is a small thing, but for our self-love there is nothing heavier than forgiving. Some unintentional slight done to us in secret, so that no one noticed—that we might perhaps forgive; but anything more sensitive, and in public—do not even ask: there is no forgiveness. Sometimes circumstances are such that whether you want to or not, you cannot express your displeasure—so you stay silent; but the tongue is silent while the heart speaks and forms evil plans. Let the offense rise even one degree higher, and there is no restraint at all: neither shame, nor fear, nor loss—nothing holds back. The self-love that has boiled over makes a person like a madman, and the one who has yielded to it begins to talk nonsense. This misfortune afflicts not the lowest sort of people, but on the contrary—the more civilized a person, the more sensitive to insult and the less he forgives. Outwardly relations sometimes remain smooth on the surface, but inside there is utter discord. Yet the Lord requires us to forgive from the whole heart.