28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Matthew 18:28-35
Questions for Reflection:
In what ways was the servant's response appropriate and in which ways was it not?
While it might seem intuitive that Jesus would care a lot about forgiveness. It can actually be hard to put it into words why. So why do you think that Jesus cares so much about forgiveness?
In your own mind, what are the conflicts between justice and forgiveness? How do they interact? How do they support each other?
Prayer of the Week:
Heavenly Father, I recognize your presence here with me right now and I invite you Father, Son and Holy Spirit into my life and this time of prayer. Holy Spirit, lead my prayer and show me how to pray.
Jesus I confess to you now that I have an unpayable debt that is larger than I can know. I confess to you that I have sinned against you and others in thought, word and deed. I have hurt you and others in ways that I don’t even know. I come to you now asking for your forgiveness. I ask that you apply to me the forgiveness that Jesus has won for me on the cross. I receive your complete forgiveness that covers all of my sins.
Father thank you for your generosity towards me and all people. I thank you for the grace that you have lavishly placed upon me. You are more generous than I can even imagine. You have daily provided for my every need. I thank you for blessings that I see and blessings that I pass by without even noticing. Help me see every day your generous gifts.
Holy Spirit I thank you for bringing true life. I receive you Holy Spirit now and I ask that through your power I am able to respond to the generosity shown to me and respond. Holy Spirit help me to be a river of grace not a pond. Help me to lavish grace upon those who have wronged me. Help me to forgive like you forgive.
Jesus help me to see and respond to all the different places where you have called me to be a contender for the Kingdom. Thank you Father for revealing yourself to me. I desperately desire to live the meaningful life Christ intends for me this day! Amen
