… We hold them captive, yet ultimately we are the ones who have to carry the weight of those chains.
When we forgive we open doors and we know that this reflects the love of God who opens His arms to us and opens the doors of His kingdom to everyone who would enter with faith. And our behavior towards others must reflect this commandment given by our Lord right before His betrayal and crucifixion, “that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” It is a commandment that is self enforcing. Either you love and have mercy or you can’t understand that language, it’s like something alien to you and even if the Lord would open the doors to His kingdom you wouldn’t be able to enter because you could not comprehend His mercy or His love. You would run from it as from fire. Because it is something that would cause you discomfort and anguish instead …
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (18:23-35)
Today we hear a parable, a story of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Honestly we should be in complete awe and wonder that Our Lord would allow us a glimpse into the things of His kingdom. Who am I that the Lord should reveal anything to me, let alone His heavenly kingdom? Yet He does reveal these things to us and we are blessed if we truly hear them and apply them in our lives. But woe to us if we hear them and don’t heed them.
Today we hear that the kingdom of heaven is like a King who wished to settle accounts with His servants and those to whom He lent money. We are reminded by this that everyone and everything within the world is called to be a servant to the Lord and that each of us has actually been given many gifts and treasures but they are given with an expectation. What have we been given from God our King? First, we have been given life. Life is a gift that only God can give. He is the life-giver.
Next we have been given the image and likeness of God as human beings. But we can go much further. We have been granted grace through the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection we have been granted a chance to enter into newness of life through our baptism. In this baptism we have received mercy and forgiveness of our sins and we continue to receive these gifts every day in the life of the Church. Everything that we receive here is a reflection of the kingdom of God. It is a place full of God’s mercy through the prayers and the sacramental life.
Since we as humans did not and could not earn these treasures, we are all in debt to the Lord. It is actually an impossible debt that can never be paid. It is paid through love and sacrifice, by our Lord. His love and His sacrifices for us are a sign of His mercy. We could not possibly earn this love. They are a sign that He truly loves us and wants us to be with Him. He doesn’t desire our sins to interfere with this relationship. He doesn’t want our sins to be a wall between us and Him, so He removes them. He doesn’t count our sins against us at all. It’s as if He doesn’t see them. But there is a catch according to the parable. The catch is an expectation that is set for each of us.
The Lord says in effect, “I have forgiven and will continue to forgive you, but you must also forgive others continually.” This is often beyond our human comprehension. But it is clear that this is the parable. What is truly terrifying is that the real implication of the parable is that the doors to the kingdom of heaven are not locked by the king, the master of the house. The key that can unlock the mercy of God is held by each of us. The key that unlocks God’s mercy is mercy itself.
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says, “Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbours, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness or unforgiveness of your sins, then, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself.”
As fellow Christians we have lots of moments in life where we fall or fail or offend or hurt others. We can each look back and see faces and situations that are uncomfortable for us. Sometimes we harbor resentments and have a real sense of pain, maybe even post traumatic stress, from the way that people might have treated us. Sadly, this can happen with those whom we are closest to. The more time you spend together, the more opportunity there is for your humanness and your imperfections to manifest themselves. So we might have a situation where there is enmity or bitterness between husbands and wives or between parents and children, or between siblings or any other possible configurations, between co-workers or between friends or between neighbors or between your brothers and sisters in the church. Yet in all of this, the key that unlocks mercy is mercy itself.
Sometimes when others have hurt or offended us, we need to step back and perhaps recall a time when we hurt or offended others yet they did not hold it against us. Of course the best example of all is the various ways we’ve offended God and sinned against Him. Yet we recall that God has not judged any one of us harshly. If you had been judged harshly, you wouldn’t be here. When we remember the great list of our own sins and failings, we begin to be humbled and we might even begin to make excuses for others before God and others. We might let go of resentment and bitterness to not only free ourselves from that terrible net but free the other person as well. When we hold grudges we wrap the other in chains. We hold them captive, yet ultimately we are the ones who have to carry the weight of those chains.
When we forgive we open doors and we know that this reflects the love of God who opens His arms to us and opens the doors of His kingdom to everyone who would enter with faith. And our behavior towards others must reflect this commandment given by our Lord right before His betrayal and crucifixion, “that you love one another, even as I have loved you.” It is a commandment that is self enforcing. Either you love and have mercy or you can’t understand that language, it’s like something alien to you and even if the Lord would open the doors to His kingdom you wouldn’t be able to enter because you could not comprehend His mercy or His love. You would run from it as from fire. Because it is something that would cause you discomfort and anguish instead of bringing you peace and a sense of belonging. It is an energy, a spirit that we don’t comprehend if we haven’t assimilated it into our lives, rather, if we haven’t assimilated into the life of Christ.
I would like to leave you with a short quote from St. Moses of Optina who writes,
“If at some time you show mercy to someone, mercy will be shown to you. If you show compassion to one who is suffering (and of course, this is not a great deed) you will be numbered among the martyrs. If you forgive one who has insulted you, then not only will all your sins be forgiven, but you will be a child of the Heavenly Father.”
What a gracious, bountiful and merciful God who allows us the opportunity to reflect His love and gentleness to others and by doing so, to be transformed and to truly grow as His beloved sons and daughters. Glory be to God, AMEN.