Rev. Fr.
Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
WHY WE
MUST FORGIVE OTHERS FROM OUR HEART?
In the
prayer our Lord Jesus gave us as a pattern of all prayers and as a fundamental
principle of Christian life, there is a portion that point out something so
important. This portion says “forgive us our trespasses as we for give those
who trespassed against us” (Matt.6:12). By this pray we are making a covenant
and commitment that will be a standard by which we are going to be judged as
regards our relationship with others and with God. But often times we are not
conscious of this principles especially when we have to face the difficult
moment of forgiving a grievous offense.
Thus,
Peter one of the disciples of Jesus being conscious of this fact, asked Jesus
in our Gospel passage today saying: ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother
if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell
you, but seventy times seven. And he practicalized his answer with an example
of a servant who owed his master a great debt that he and his generation cannot
pay. But when he pleads for mercy, the master forgave him all the debts.
However,
this same servant found a fellow servant who owed him as little as one hundred
denarii, he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him and even when he
pleaded for mercy, instead of forgiving him, he puts him in prison according to
the norms of the law until he had paid his debt.
This
unforgiven servant did to his fellow servant what the master could have done to
him, but did not. When the master heard how he treated his fellow servant, he
said to him: “You wicked servant! I have forgiven you all your debt because you
appealed to me. Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow-servant
just as I had pity on you?
And,
angry, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his
debts.” Jesus then said, this is how my heavenly Father will deal with you
unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’ For God will apply the
principle he has given us in our Lord’s Prayer, which will automatically put us
where we properly belongs based on how we have related with other.
In
this story, we see the extreme estimate of the debt the servant owed his
master, ten thousand talents, even if him and his family had to work their
whole life, they would never have been able to pay that debt. Because a
denarius is a day's wage for a common workingman. While a talent is 6,000
denarii, or 20 years of daily wages. That means he would need to work 6,000
days to earn one talent and we are talking about ten thousand talents.
So,
that’s a huge amount compared to hundred denarii his fellow servant owed him,
in fact, there was no comparison between the two debtors at all. However, this
will exposed to us the ugly attitude of unforgiveness and also help us to
understand that our debt before God is so huge and countless for we cannot be
able to pay them but he still forgive us.
This
is what we see in our first reading today, for after the death of Moses, God
assured his people of his mercy and protection when he said to Joshua, ‘This very day I will begin to
make you a great man in the eyes of all Israel, to let them be sure that I am
going to be with you even as I was with Moses.
Dear
friends, Are there people we have vowed not to forgive? Have people hurt us so
much that we can’t forgive them? Have we offended people and cannot be humble
enough to ask for their forgiveness? Do we think that our sins are so huge for
God to forgive? Are we finding it difficult to forgive those who have offended
us? There is no doubt that forgiven a grievous offense can be very difficult,
but when this is done, it is like recovery a lost treasure that contains: joy,
peace, freedom and healing.
And today
Jesus is asking us to learn how to forgive others always and unconditionally
from our hearts, so that God will also forgive us always and unconditionally.
Therefore, we must never refuse to forgive or reject an offer of reconciliation
in our relationship with God and with our fellow human beings and if this
becomes difficult, bring it to Jesus in prayer as you contemplate his patience
and humility and mercy on the cross for us.
LET US
PRAY: Almighty God, today you have made us to realize how unlimited you mercy
is, as you exposed how huge our debts are in comparison with the little debts
of forgiveness others owe us. As we make it a habit to forgive from the debt of
our hearts all those who have offended us, may we discover and experience the
hidden treasures that forgiveness brings. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen. Do have a grace filled day.
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