24TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Sirach 27:33-28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35

EVIL MULTIPLIES WHERE FORGIVENESS IS LACKING

Dear Friends in Christ, today’s Liturgy of the Word places before us the difficult demand of the Gospel, forgiveness. The First Reading warns us that “wrath and anger are hateful things,” while Jesus tells Peter to forgive seventy-seven times. The message is clear – evil multiplies where forgiveness is lacking. A wound that is not healed can become resentment, and resentment can become hatred, and hatred can produce revenge, and revenge creates another wound. This is the cycle we see in families, communities, nations, and tragically, in wars.

However, there is a question within Jesus’ parable. If we are called to forgive continually, what should the master do when the wicked servant asks forgiveness a second time? Should he simply pardon him again? Forgiveness relates to genuine repentance. The servant’s sorrow was revealed to be a sham because, after receiving extraordinary mercy, he refused to show mercy to another. He lacked a purpose of amendment. God sees the heart. When we sincerely confess our sins, even when we repeatedly struggle, we must never underestimate His mercy. His mercy is deeper than the ocean. God knows that bad habits are difficult to break. He sees our desire to change, our failures, and our need to begin again. His mercy gives us opportunities to make amendments and return to Him.

Yet the forgiven person must become a forgiving person. We cannot receive God’s mercy while deliberately nourishing h@tred against another. Forgiveness does not mean saying that evil was acceptable. It does not cancel justice or accountability. Rather, forgiveness refuses to allow another person’s evil to possess our heart. This is why reconciliation is essential for our wellbeing. Refusing to forgive can imprison us in anger, disturb our peace, damage relationships, and keep wounds alive. Forgiveness does not erase what happened, but it can free us from its control.

Dearest Friends in Christ, reconciliation is equally necessary in families and communities. Whenever people live together, there will be misunderstandings, disappointments, and injuries. Without forgiveness, homes become battlefields and communities become divided. Reconciliation strengthens relationships and restores communion. The same is true for the world. Where historical grievances, h@tred, retaliation, and refusal to forgive remain, violence reproduces itself. Political and military solutions may stop conflict, but lasting peace requires reconciliation. Without forgiveness, yesterday’s wounds become tomorrow’s violence.

There is also a forgiveness we sometimes forget: forgiving ourselves. Some know God has forgiven them yet continue punishing themselves. We might ask: “Are you greater than God?” Accepting God’s forgiveness does not excuse our sins; it means allowing His mercy to give us a new beginning. St. Paul reminds us in the Second Reading that “none of us lives for oneself.” We belong to Christ. Therefore, our lives cannot be governed by revenge. Today, Jesus asks: Have I received mercy without becoming merciful? Is there someone I refuse to forgive? Is there a wound I continue to feed? Forgiveness is not easy, but it is possible because God has forgiven us more than we will ever be asked to forgive others. Let us break the cycle of resentment and retaliation. Let us choose reconciliation over revenge, mercy over hatred, and peace over violence. Evil multiplies where forgiveness is lacking, but where forgiveness begins, healing begins, and where reconciliation begins, peace can finally take root.

Happy Sunday and God bless you all!

©Friar Emmanuel Idakwo OFM Cap.