Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA

IS THERE A LIMIT?

When it comes to forgiveness, can we put a limit to it? Peter asked the Lord: “How many times should I forgive my brother when he offends me…?” Peter was being very sincere as a human being. As humans we have our limits in both being hurt and forgiving those who hurt us. We should not accuse people when they react badly when they are hurt. So many factors can cause people to react in different ways when they are hurt. It can be caused by someone’s nature while for others it could have to do with how they were nurtured, especially the environment they grew up in.

For some people, they live their lives on their sleeves and so when they are hurt, they react immediately. People with this attitude at times can be known as having a bad temper. For others when they are hurt, they prefer to harbor the ill feeling and use a secretive means to react but at times they tend to arrive at the same end effect of the person who has a bad temper and reacted angrily. There are other people who are naturally predisposed to forgiveness no matter how they are hurt.

Offending people and being offended is natural with people live in community with each other. For the Apostles, they spent most of their time together and so it is natural/normal if one felt hurt through the action of another. We are not told what informed Peter’s question on the limit to forgiveness if a brother offends another. With Peter serving as a spokesperson for the group, he may have observed some slight harboring of ill feelings so he may have thought that it would be good for Jesus to set a rule on forgiveness. I can understand Peter because a lawless group is not worth living in.

In response to Peter’s question, Jesus set-up the Christian rule on forgiveness. Peter went with a proposal when he asked his question, but Jesus replied with an ideal. For Peter, it would have been better for Jesus to set a limit to forgiveness, but Jesus removed limits and made it limitless. Peter’s suggestion can be termed as being human because every person has his/her limits when it comes to forgiveness but Jesus’ rule is divine and Christian. It is divine because God everyday continuously forgives us of our sins and He never losses His patience with us. If it is not the continuous act of forgiveness of God, I think this world could have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah long time ago. The souls who were destroyed on that day at Sodom and Gomorrah may be complaining to God that if He is continuously forgiving the present generation then, they were not treated fairly. If Christ has earned us this privilege for us to enjoy the Father’s continuous act of forgiveness, then we should demonstrate same for one another.

The parable in today’s gospel passage speaks to this effect – if the Father continuously shows us mercy then we ought to do same for our fellow brothers and sisters. In today parable, a father of a certain household forgave one of his servants but that servant could not forgive his fellow servant. With the punishment that the Lord recommended for the unforgiving servant shows that there is no room for people who live with unforgiving spirit.

We need to embrace the call for fraternal kindness to one another in the spirit of forgiveness. The erudite apostle is right to make this appeal in today’s second reading: “Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord…” Collectively we all make up the body of Christ and so for one to live in unforgiveness is to harm the body which the person is intrinsically part of.

Since the DNA of the Christ family is living in a spirit of continuous forgiveness, anyone who fails to possess this character trait will be removed from the family. We should note that anybody who fails to forgive a brother/sister invites punishment on him or herself. In the first reading, the inspired writer states that “the vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.” A person who lives in the body of Christ and the family of God with an unforgiving attitude will not be entertained according to the parable in today’s gospel passage. Jesus made it clear that because the servant who was forgiven by his master did not display forgiveness to his fellow servant, “…in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.” Jesus concluded the discourse by stating emphatically: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” Let us learn to forgive. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.