[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, September 13, 2026, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
This week's episode is entitled: Forgiveness is Divine! And these readings remind us that forgiveness should be limitless - especially if we want God to forgive us… that every decision we make should be with God's judgment in mind, and that whether we live or die, as Christians, we belong to God.
[00:00:53] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
Peter thinks he is being quite generous when he asks if he should forgive as many as seven times - Jesus says that's not nearly enough! Sirach assures us that our sins will be pardoned if we forgive others. And Paul reminds us that we both live and die for the Lord, so we don't have the right to judge others. The old adage: to err is human is a cliché because it is so very true. Unfortunately, we often forget the other half of that saying: to forgive is divine. Those words don't mean that only God CAN forgive, but that God shows us HOW to forgive. So, let's forgive everyone, because such forgiveness is uplifting, marvelous, wonderful… divine!
[00:02:02] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you for the goodness you bestow upon us, for the blessings you shower on us, especially for your abundant mercy which forgives us, heals us, and redeems us. We thank you for not dealing with us as we deserve in our sins, but for separating us from our transgressions, as far as the east is from the west. And we ask that you help us to forgive others as generously as you forgive us. We ask this through Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:02:59] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures. Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 18: 21-35.
“Peter came up and said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’
‘Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, “Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, “Pay what you owe.” So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.’”
[00:05:28] This week's passage follows immediately after the conclusion of last week's passage. And if we think back to last week, Jesus taught the disciples how to settle conflicts between people with gentleness and kindness to achieve reconciliation and unity. And remember, Jesus started his teaching last week with the words: “If your brother sins against you…” This week, Peter questions Jesus about the resolution, about the requirement to forgive others… not questioning whether or not it should happen - because clearly it should - but rather questioning the frequency with which this forgiveness should be granted. And Peter evidently thinks he is being quite generous. Jesus very quickly - but gently - corrects Peter's mistake! So, let's listen in on that exchange and what follows after…
“Peter came up and said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’”
[00:06:54] Now to put this in perspective, Rabbinic tradition taught that forgiveness must be offered three times, so at seven times, Peter thinks he's being generous. He's already extended the limits imposed by tradition by more than double. So that's quite generous, right?
“Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’”
[00:07:30] In other words, Jesus says… don't even keep track! There should be no limit on human forgiveness… God's forgiveness is boundless, therefore human forgiveness should be no less generous.
[00:07:46] Now, before I go on, I want to point out a few other things. First, let's look at some differences in translation. The NAB - which is the translation used by the Catholic Church to assemble the Lectionary - the NAB says: “seventy-seven times.” However, older versions say: “seven times seventy” while - as we just heard - the RSV says: “seventy times seven.”
[00:08:19] So, let's explore all of that a bit while we're here. The change in the NAB translation to: “seventy-seven times” is, I think, just a simplification of language… more recent translators added together the numbers 70 and 7 rather than multiplying the two, still creating a very large number but losing symbolism in the process. However, because numbers are always significant, it's worth understanding why the numbers 7 and 70 were utilized in the first place.
[00:09:06] As I already mentioned, Peter would have known that forgiving another person three times was consistent with Rabbinic tradition. So, bumping that up to seven, (which is one of those perfect numbers, right? A number of completion) bumping that up to seven would have been generous and therefore Peter would think sufficient even for Jesus. But Jesus has a different idea. He introduces the number 70 into this discussion… and 70 is, of course, the product of seven (which is one perfect number - representing on one hand all of creation) and 10 (another perfect number - the number of commandments given to Moses, therefore a number representing the Law).
Which brings us back to the idea that there should be no limit on how much or how often we forgive others, particularly not if we want God to forgive us! Then Jesus, in order to really hammer home that lesson about forgiveness, tells the disciples a parable… and remember, I said back in July on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time that Jesus would return to teaching in parables. Well, here we are… and this Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is found only in Matthew. So, Jesus says…
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven”
And remember, parables are intended to teach truths about the kingdom of heaven.
“the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.”
In the Bible, the term servant would typically refer to a bond servant or slave, someone who was sold into servitude. But since this king wants to settle accounts with these individuals, they are possibly some type of employee… perhaps court officials, accountants, palace guards, advisors, or the like.
“When he began the reckoning,”
So, when the king began to meet with different individuals to settle their accounts.
“one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents;”
[00:11:52] The NAB says: “a huge amount.” Now, that is a huge amount but let's try to define it a bit more precisely. A single talent - in biblical times - was the equivalent of 16 years wages, so ten thousand talents would be nearly impossible to repay. In today's dollars, that would correspond to about $225 million, and that - by the way - is a conservative estimate.
[00:12:31] “and as he could not pay,”
This person may not have been able to save his wages and clearly couldn't repay his debt, but we can all tell he surely could spend!
“as he could not pay, his lord”
[00:12:50] That's lowercase “l”, lord - meaning the king. So, the king…
“ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had,”
Being sold into slavery was not uncommon in biblical times… and it was certainly better than being thrown into prison. The purchase price paid by a new master would at least settle a portion of the debt and release the individual from the obligation to repay the remainder. Unfortunately, this man's debt was so large that the king ordered his wife and his children also be sold along with all of this man's belongings in order to settle as much of the debt as possible. Given the size of the debt, it's probably safe to assume that his possessions were quite extensive. And then we hear a strange phrase…
[00:13:54] “and payment to be made.”
That means payment into the royal coffers. The NAB specifies: “in payment of the debt.”
[00:14:07] “So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’”
[00:14:16] Interestingly enough, in the NAB translation, the servant does not address the king by any title… he simply says: “have patience with me.” Now, in all honesty, that debt was so massive that the man would likely never be able to repay it!
“And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.”
[00:14:51] That should remind us of the debt we owe to our Heavenly Father… because remember, Jesus is using this situation to teach about the kingdom of heaven! We put this debt in earthly terms of dollars and cents so that we can better understand the king's generosity - the king's forgiveness - but this parable isn't about earthly debt at all! Jesus isn't talking about money! And we can understand that much better if we look at the King James translation of the Bible (the Protestant version of the Bible), where the words of the Our Father are: “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
In this parable, Jesus is talking about God forgiving us for everything we do that requires his forgiveness… from being impatient, indifferent, or unintentionally rude to being callous, selfish, or hateful to even greater offenses - those grave matters, those serious sins we talked about just a couple of weeks ago.
[00:16:34] And let's face it, all of us do a lot of things that require God's mercy and forgiveness. Jesus then tells the other half of this parable…
[00:16:49] “That same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants”
Meaning that he encountered someone who would have been the social equal of himself, who owed him 100 denarii. The NAB says: “a much smaller amount.” And while true, what exactly does that mean? A denarius (which is the singular form of denarii) was the equivalent of one day's wage… so to put it in relative perspective, that amount of 100 denarii represented less than a single year's wages. That debt is nothing compared to the debt that the first servant owed to the king.
“and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’”
[00:17:53] Despite the kindness, despite the mercy bestowed upon that servant by the king, he shows absolutely no sympathy, no mercy, for his fellow servant. And rather than being thankful for his good fortune, that unmerciful servant went looking for an outlet for his own anger and frustration… he went looking for trouble!
[00:18:25] “So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’”
[00:18:32] Those are almost the exact words the first servant used to plead with the king. But…
“He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.”
[00:18:48] Now, such an action was certainly legal, but it was morally and ethically wrong, especially in light of that unmerciful servant's own recent experience.
“When his fellow servants saw what had taken place,”
[00:19:13] Okay, picture the scene… all the other court officials are milling around outside the king's throne room, waiting to meet with the king. The first guy walks out after his meeting with the king and gossip about his massive debt being forgiven spreads like wildfire. So, when this man (who, truth be told, may not have been particularly well liked given how he now treats someone who is his social equal) when this guy grabs the next poor schmuck in line all the other court officials would have been thoroughly scandalized. Jesus says…
[00:20:04] “they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.”
[00:20:13] So picture that, too! Every person that comes before the king, the first words out of their mouths are about what they had just witnessed!
“Then his lord summoned him”
Meaning the king summoned back into his presence that unmerciful servant.
“and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me;’”
The king was merciful and forgave the man simply because he asked… not because he was a good or a bad person, not because he was cruel or kind, not because of any character flaw or strength, but just because he asked! Then the king continues…
“should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”
Blessings from God are meant to be shared, not hoarded! No matter what those blessings are… love, peace, joy, mercy, forgiveness, kindness, patience - absolutely - all of those! But if we have used the talents that God has given us to earn money, then wealth, clothing, food, other resources - absolutely - those blessings should be shared as well! The list, depending on where those blessings arise, goes on and on. But those blessings are always meant to be shared.
“And in anger”
In the king's righteous anger.
“his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.”
[00:22:28] Meaning that the king threw that unmerciful servant in jail, and the terms of his imprisonment are until he should pay all his debt. And we already know that's probably not ever going to happen. So, in terms of the kingdom of heaven, that essentially means eternal separation from God. That means that if we are unwilling to share the blessings of forgiveness that God bestows upon us, then we too will find that we are separated from God.
[00:23:19] “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
[00:23:31] Last week in our discussion of Romans, we were reminded that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves… that is the second half of a verse from Leviticus 19. But the first half of that verse is: “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people.”
[00:24:00] So, when Jesus offers that warning at the end of this Parable, it was very likely with those words in mind… take no revenge and cherish no grudge.
[00:24:18] Powerful words! Difficult to practice in our fallen human state. In fact, we can't do that on our own at all, we can only do that with God's grace! Because God demonstrated his mercy and forgiveness for us when he sent his Son to die for our sakes on the Cross.
[00:24:54] So, we should forgive limitlessly because God forgives us without limits. And Jesus says - don't forgive with words only! Forgiveness must be interior, genuine, from the heart!
[00:25:20] Forgiveness like that is liberating, uplifting, wonderful… forgiveness like that is divine!
[00:25:32] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Sirach 27:30 – 28:7.
[00:25:43] “Anger and wrath, these are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them. He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the LORD, and he will firmly establish his sins. Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins? If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, will he then seek forgiveness from God? Who will make expiation for his sins? Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity, remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments. Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor; remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance.”
[00:27:08] Sirach is one of the wisdom books in the Catholic and Orthodox canons of Scripture; in the Protestant Bible it would be found in the Apocrypha or the Disputed Books. It has been dated to around 195 to 175 BC and it was written by Yeshua ben Sira, who was an educated man, possibly a Scribe. His writings accurately depicted temple worship, suggesting that he was from Jerusalem and had witnessed such worship himself. It has also been suggested by some scholars that ben Sira may have run a school in Jerusalem.
The Book of Sirach was part of the Septuagint (which was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), so we know that the Book of Sirach would have been familiar to Jews at the time of Jesus. And fragments of the text were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves of Qumran between 1947 and 1956.
[00:28:33] And when this book was written, Jerusalem was under the control of Greek speaking rulers from the Byzantine Empire. Greek language and culture became dominant in Jerusalem, and some Jews were tempted to abandon - at least publicly - the practice of their ancestral Jewish faith in order to get ahead in society.
[00:29:08] This passage about anger, vengefulness, and forgiveness would have been particularly beneficial to the Jews of that time, just as it is helpful to us today. So, let's listen to what Sirach has to say…
[00:29:28] “Anger and wrath, these are abominations, and the sinful man will possess them.”
The NAB translates “possess them” as “hug them tight” - regardless of how those words are translated, they certainly point out that we humans do love to hold on to grudges.
“He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the LORD, and he will firmly establish his sins.”
[00:30:08] Meaning that we shouldn't purposely set traps for others because it's just as likely that we will get caught in those traps ourselves. And this helps us understand the communal impact of sin and why the Church stresses the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
[00:30:40] Sin never impacts just the sinner, it creates ripples - like a pebble tossed into a pond - the damage caused by sin and the venom it carries spreads to others in the community creating harm and bad feelings.
[00:31:09] “Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray.”
[00:31:19] In that sentence, we should hear an echo of the words of the Our Father: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We should hear Jesus’ words in this week's parable: “forgive your brother from your heart.” And we should hear Leviticus 19: take no revenge and cherish no grudge.
[00:31:56] “Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins?”
[00:32:15] Isn't that precisely how the Unmerciful Servant in Jesus' Parable acted?
“If he himself, being flesh, maintains wrath, will he then seek forgiveness from God?”
[00:32:39] As I'm reading those words, I hope you are hearing the incredulity that the author himself is intending to be heard. Because Sirach is saying… if we hold on to our anger, if we hold grudges, if we seek vengeance, then we have no right to seek forgiveness from God.
[00:33:16] And the phrase: “will he then seek forgiveness from God?” That question is not present in the NAB translation, but the next phrase is present in both!
“Who will make expiation for his sins?”
[00:33:39] That is a rhetorical question, of course, and Sirach is prompting his audience to wrestle with that question… what happens if a man IS unwilling to set aside his own anger, if he CHOOSES to hold on to grudges and pursue vengeance, if he is UNWILLING to forgive, then who will forgive him, who will help him, who will show him compassion?
[00:34:21] Then Sirach presents four statements that all begin with the word “Remember” and - keep in mind - repetition was a means of indicating emphasis in the Old Testament, and each call to remember is then paired with a call to action.
[00:34:48] “Remember the end of your life, and cease from enmity,”
The end of your life is coming… the end of everyone's life is coming. That is a natural consequence for every human being. If you want a happy death, do more than just think about being merciful… take action! Be merciful!
[00:35:17] “remember destruction and death, and be true to the commandments.”
[00:35:23] Again - the end is coming… death is promised to everyone! So, take action while you still can! Be true to God's law.
[00:35:39] “Remember the commandments, and do not be angry with your neighbor;”
[00:35:45] Yes, hold fast to the teachings of the Torah, the teaching of the Law. And - as it says in Leviticus 19 - take no revenge, cherish no grudge, and love your neighbor as yourself.
[00:36:12] “remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook ignorance.”
[00:36:21] With this final paired call, Sirach reaches what he perceives to be his logical conclusion… that if people remain faithful to God's Covenant, then they will be able to overlook the faults, failings, and, yes, ignorance of others. That they will, instead, actually be inspired to help them, to teach them, to forgive them, to love them.
[00:37:09] Throughout the Old Testament story, God forgives his people over and over and thereby teaches them how to forgive time and time again.
[00:37:26] So, let's take Sirach's advice to heart… let's take action while we still can. Let's be merciful, let's forgive others… generously and without limits.
[00:37:46] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 103, and the refrain is:
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.”
[00:38:00] And here are the verses:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
“[He] forgives all your iniquity, [he] heals all your diseases, [he] redeems your life from the Pit, [he] crowns you with mercy and compassion.”
“He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger for ever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
[00:38:57] This Psalm is a Hymn of Praise that extols the Lord's goodness, mercy, and faithfulness. The Psalmist's invitation to praise God extends beyond mere humanity to include the angels in heaven and encompass all of creation as well.
[00:39:17] When the Psalmist says “all that is within me” should bless the Lord - he means his soul, his strength, his will, his intent, his heart, his entire being - every part of him that was created by God (which is every part of him) should praise God. And when the Psalmist says “forget not his benefits” he means we should be grateful for all of God's goodness. In the third stanza, when the Psalmist says God “does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay our iniquities” that is to remind us that everything God does is tempered by his mercy.
[00:40:10] And the Psalmist emphasizes that in the fourth stanza, saying “as far as the east is from the west” - so across all of creation - so far does God “remove our transgressions (our sins) from us” meaning that God not only takes away the guilt of our sins, but that he also frees us from the burden of our sins.
[00:40:46] As Christians, we believe that Jesus accomplished that once and for all on the Cross.
[00:40:59] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from Romans 14: 7-9.
“[Brothers and sisters:] None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
[00:41:36] This is our final passage from Romans… and if we think back to when we started this book in June, I said that it would last until mid-September and here we are! This part of the letter to the Romans deals with forgiveness - how appropriate!
[00:41:59] In fact, just before this passage begins, Paul asks: “who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?”
[00:42:12] For our purposes - given our Gospel - it may have been helpful to include that question in this passage, but I also understand why those who assembled the Lectionary didn't do so… because where does this passage begin?
[00:42:31] “None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.”
[00:42:36] The NAB translates that as “for” – “None of us lives FOR oneself, and no one dies FOR oneself”
[00:42:45] Which runs contrary to what we think in society today, doesn't it? So often we think we are each independent, sovereign individuals, not beholden to anyone else, not needing to listen to anyone else's opinion or advice, relying solely on ourselves and our own thoughts, wants, needs, hopes, and dreams. Forgetting that we are all part of the same world and that everything we do affects others.
[00:43:24] Case in point, when the smoke from wildfires in California spread to Canada, Canada offered to help the United States fight those wildfires. Unfortunately, when smoke from Canada's wildfires drifted south to the United States, the Trump administration was not so kind in return… but should have been. The earth is our common home, and we are all responsible for the care of it and for the care of each other.
[00:44:10] Paul then goes on…
“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.”
The NAB translates the word “to” as “for” – which, I think, is probably better.
I don't like the translation: “we die to the Lord” because that sounds like we don't care about him… I think “for” is a better translation. We live FOR the Lord - or - we die FOR the Lord. But the second half of that sentence is what is most important, because no matter what happens to us as individuals - every Christian belongs to Christ - both in life and in death. Therefore, we should focus on what unites us rather than on the things that divide us, we should focus on our communion with Jesus rather than on ways we invent to be different from each other. Every Christian is marked as belonging to the Lord when we are Baptized, and that mark - that communion, that unity - is the single most important characteristic we will ever possess.
[00:45:52] It surpasses every other accomplishment, honor, or award we will ever earn or receive because it unites us to Christ.
[00:46:06] “For to this end Christ died and lived again,”
[00:46:11] He Died on the Cross and lives again in the Resurrection.
“that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
Lord of the dead - who have already been judged; and Lord of the living - who have yet to be judged… that's us! Which means we still have time to do better, to be better, with God's grace.
[00:46:42] I really wish that the Lectionary would have included two additional verses at the end of this passage, because they would have tied everything together so perfectly! But, what we don't hear is:
“Why then do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; and each of us shall give an account of himself [to God].”
[00:47:17] Those words should make each and every one of us think - really think - about how we treat others!
[00:47:29] Because if every choice made by every Christian was based on having to defend our actions before God - if we really thought that out before making every decision - how often might we actually make a different choice?
[00:47:57] And that is essentially what Sirach meant at the end of that First Reading… consider everything thoroughly, in the light of faith, and then make the right choice.
The choice to forgive others without limits as Jesus said in the Gospel… because if we don't, we run the risk of not being forgiven ourselves.
The choice to forgive others as Sirach said in our First Reading… because then when we pray, our sins will be forgiven.
We all belong to God as Paul reminded us in our Second Reading… so we don't have the right to judge others, we don't have the right to hold grudges, or to seek vengeance.
[00:48:54] So, let's not judge anyone and let's forgive… everyone!
Forgiving others will liberate us from hatred and resentment…
It will lift our hearts and minds out of negativity and bitterness…
It will help us love others as God loves us…
Because forgiveness is divine!
[00:49:25] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless!
