TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.
Gospel : St. Matthew xviii. 23-35.
AT that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: “ The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant, falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.
But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him a hundred pence; and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest And his fellow-servant, falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt. Now his fellow-servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him, and said to him: Thou wicked servant! I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow-servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall My Heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts.
Q. Of whom are this king and the debtor in the parable figures?
A. As in all the other parables so in this the king is a figure of God, master and judge of the universe; and the debtor represents sinful man, who must render an account of all his actions to the Divine Justice.
Q. Why is this servant represented as being so heavily in debt?
A. It is evident that the Divine Master thus represented him in order to express the enormity of sin, and the immense debt contracted with God by him who commits it.
Q. What fault had the wife and children committed, that they also were to be sold ?
A. This is an ornament of the parable, founded on the practice of certain very singular cases, as can be seen in Daniel. At any rate it may well signify that sometimes a whole family and an entire community must suffer for the sin of a father or of a member, in the same manner as all who were in the ship with the prophet Jonas were in danger of drowning, because he had been disobedient to God. All Egypt was punished on account of Pharao, and three thousand conquerors of Jericho were put to flight near the city Hai by a handful of uncircumcised men, on account of one only, Achan.
Q. How could the poor servant promise to pay so large a sum?
A. Strictly speaking, it was impossible for him to pay such an enormous debt, but this was said to signify that a sinner, although he cannot do anything of himself, can truly promise to satisfy the Divine Justice, relying on the infinite treasure of the passion and merits of Jesus Christ,
Q. How could the king be so easily moved to compassion and forgive so great a debt?
A. From this we should learn how great is the goodness of God, and how willingly He forgives him who sincerely confesses his sins and firmly resolves to amend his life. David and Magdalen are very eloquent examples of this.
Q. Of whom is that servant a figure who refused to have pity on his fellow-servant?
A. In this particular he is a figure of those Christians who refuse to forgive their neighbour, whilst they themselves dare to hope, or have even previously obtained the forgiveness of their sins, which are far more grievous.
Q. What are we to think of him when we see him having recourse to the tribunals to obtain satisfaction?
A. By acting in this manner he is the odious picture of those vindictive persons who make use of all imaginable means to obtain satisfaction for injuries received, and it makes us feel how disgraceful and revolting such conduct is.
Q. Why did his fellow-servants inform their master of the bad conduct of this man?
A. This signifies that the true servants of the Lord are always displeased and sorry for the acts of revenge done by Christians, and that, however just the satisfaction obtained may appear to be, the heavenly Master will always know it, will judge it rigorously, and will discover the secret malice thereof.
Q. But this master did not oblige the servant to cancel the obligations due him from others. Why, then, was he so angry with him?
A. Let us learn from this how angry the Lord will be with us if we exact satisfaction, knowing that He has strictly commanded us to forgive our neighbour from our heart, and that He has repeatedly assured us that we shall be treated by Him in the same manner as we have treated others.
Q. Why did the master deliver that servant to the torturers?
A. The Divine Teacher said this in the parable to let us know that whosoever does not sincerely forgive his enemies will be sentenced to the torments of hell.
Q. What are we to learn from this Gospel?
A. In the first place, we are to learn to acknowledge before God our great debts, that is, our sins, with sincerity and humility of heart. Secondly, we are to learn to have a firm purpose of making good our great debt as far as we can with the assistance of divine grace, by repentance, by receiving the holy sacraments, and by other good works. Lastly, we are to learn sincerely to pardon those who have offended us, and to fear the punishments with which God has threatened vindictive men.
