Stop Counting – Matthew 18:21-25

A text – Matthew 18:21-35

²¹ Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

²³ “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. ²⁴ When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, ²⁵ and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. ³² Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. ³⁵ So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

A reflection:

We know from many other stories of Jesus and his disciples that Peter is the impulsive one. Peter, most often for really good motives, wants to make good things happen. He’s the first to follow the Lord. His confession that Jesus is the Son of God is the rock on which Jesus will build his church.  As strong and gifted and impulsive as Peter is, it probably shouldn’t surprise us that he is impatient with people who annoy or harm him, or that he would come to the Lord wanting an allowance to stop forgiving someone. There has to be a limit, right? How many times do I put up with this fool/bully/toxic person, Lord? Seven times, and no more, right?

Jesus’s answer does two things. It demonstrates the boundless, un-reckon-ableness, un-numberable nature of God’s forgiving of human failings (so don’t try to count the number – it is as many as the stars in heaven or grains of sand on the shore), and it also gives a number (for someone who really really wants to keep score) that is so high that you couldn’t really keep track of it. The slave in the parable has run up a debt that is so high there is no way one human could pay it in his lifetime by any means. It has a number, yes, but it is a number that no one could ever pay off. It is a number that only God can reckon and only God can satisfy or, better, forgive.

One lesson from this parable, then, might be to live in relationship to God in such a way that we just perpetually thank God for mercy, forgiveness, and abundant love rather than trying to recite our sins and count them up to determine what we owe for them and then try to pay them off one by one. And then, also, to live in relationship to our fellow humans in such a way that we just perpetually be grateful and thank each of our friends and neighbors and family members for their abundant care for us rather than dwelling on each and every time our interactions go wrong, whether those wrongs are our fault or theirs. Love one another. Be grateful for one another. Be generous with one another, as our Creator is generous with us. Stop Counting.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for not keeping a record of our many wrongs. Thank you for your endless capacity to love us and care for us. Help us to extend that kind of love to the people in our lives, so that our relationships might flow smoothly and we might be as trustworthy as you are. Amen.