THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost 21 October 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

When the master in today’s gospel brought forth the servant that owed ten-thousand talents, he is not angry with him, he simply commands that he be sold and his wife and his children and all that he possesses so that payment could be made. The master was ready to forgive the debt but first he wished to have the servant understand how great his debt was and secondly to ask for mercy or leniency. This heavy sentence was passed out of mercy. As another example of a heavy sentence meted out for mercy, we see St. Paul commands that a man should be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. (I Cor. V, 5) Likewise God treats us this way. God threatens us with eternal hell-fire after He first brings to our mind the enormity of our sins (debt). He does this out of mercy; He is ready to forgive us; but first He wants us to understand the enormity of our sins so that may appreciate the bounteousness of His mercy; and secondly God wants us to humbly ask for His mercy. So this first condemnation is not for our ruin but rather for our salvation, and God imposes this sentence not in anger but rather in mercy, for He intends to forgive us if we humbly will pray and beg pardon and promise amendment. 

There was a second time that the servant was brought before the master and this time the master is angry and seeks only justice without mercy. The servant after having been given the greatest mercy in having his enormous debt wiped clean by the immeasurable mercy of his master, would not show even a hint of mercy to his fellow servant who was only slightly indebted to him. This uncharitableness of a servant to his fellow servant after having been the recipient of such boundless charity, brought forth the anger of his master. So will be the final judgment of God. For those who do not amend but continue in their sins, on the last day when the whole world is brought together to give an accounting there will be no longer any mercy – only justice. God will show forth His anger at this time and the sentence will be an eternal one. 

There is another point that we should consider. The master easily forgave the offense against himself but would not forgive the offense against a fellow servant. God is eager to forgive us our offenses against Him, but demands satisfaction of our offenses against our neighbors. 

“If therefore, thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee: go first and be reconciled to thy brother; and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift.” (Mt. v. 23, 24) St. John Chrysostom says: “... ‘I say to you that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery; and that he that shall marry her that is put away committeth adultery.’ (Mt. v 32) And through St. Paul He also decreed that: ‘If any brother hath a wife that believeth not and she consent to dwell with him; let him not put her away.’ (I Cor vii, 12) If she is an adulteress, he says, let him put her away; if she believeth not, let him not put her away. If she has sinned against thee, cut her off. He says: if she has sinned against Me, retain her. So here likewise, although the sinner had committed such grievous sins against Himself, He forgave him. But when he committed sins against his fellow servant, though these were lesser and fewer, He does not forgive him; but delivers him up to punishment.” 

We have been the recipient of many great graces from God especially in our Baptism; in the sacrament of Penance we have the eternal punishment of mortal sins washed away; in the Holy Eucharist we receive God Himself into our bodies, etc. It is necessary that we understand that God is more ready to forgive us our offenses against Himself, rather than forgive us our offenses against one another. May we take notice and correct any offenses that we may have committed against one another and likewise readily forgive one another as we desire to be forgiven by God. Then we can pray sincerely: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”