First Reading - Ezekiel 12:1-12
Gospel - Matthew 18:21-19:1
In today’s Gospel, Peter comes to Jesus with a very practical question: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive? As many as seven times?” Peter probably thinks he is being generous. Seven times sounds like a lot. But Jesus answers, “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” In other words, forgiveness cannot be reduced to a calculation. For a disciple of Jesus, forgiveness is not a number; it is a way of life.
Jesus then tells the parable of the servant whose enormous debt is forgiven by his master. The servant receives mercy far beyond what he could ever repay. Yet, after receiving such mercy, he refuses to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him. The tragedy is that he wants to receive mercy without becoming merciful.
This connects beautifully with the first reading from Ezekiel. God asks the prophet to perform a symbolic action: pack his belongings and leave his place as though going into exile. Ezekiel becomes a sign for a people who have become blind to their own situation. They see, but they do not perceive; they hear, but they do not understand. Their problem is not simply that they have made mistakes. They have become resistant to the word of God.
Dear friends, the same danger can exist in our spiritual lives. We can hear the Gospel of forgiveness every day and still remain unwilling to forgive. We can receive God's mercy and yet hold tightly to the faults of others. We can ask God to be patient with us while becoming impatient with everyone around us.
Jesus invites us to recognize how much we ourselves have received. We are not standing before God as people who have perfectly fulfilled everything. We live by grace. God has forgiven us, carried us, been patient with us, and given us another opportunity again and again. Therefore, Christian forgiveness begins not by looking at the size of another person's offence, but by remembering the size of God's mercy toward us.
Forgiveness does not mean pretending that nothing happened. It does not mean approving injustice or allowing someone to continue hurting us. It means refusing to allow another person's wrongdoing to control our heart. We can establish boundaries, seek justice when necessary, and still choose not to live with hatred or revenge.
Today Jesus asks us to look honestly at our hearts: Whom am I still refusing to forgive? What wound am I continually carrying? Where am I asking God for mercy while refusing mercy to another?
The first reading reminds us not to become a people who hear without understanding. The Gospel reminds us not to become people who receive forgiveness without forgiving.
May the Lord open our hearts to recognize the mercy we have received, so that the mercy we have received may become the mercy we give. Because ultimately, forgiveness is not merely something Jesus commands us to do—it is the life that flows from knowing how deeply we ourselves have been forgiven.
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