In the Gospel reading today, St. Matthew records the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ in the parable of a king settling accounts with his servants. We hear of a servant whose debt was so great that it could not be paid, and of how he obtained mercy from the king. The Fathers tell us that, in this parable, we are the man who owes ten thousand talents – we are the servant with a debt that cannot be paid.
Consider how the king will settle this man’s account – that is, how the King will deal with us, when we stand before Him to give an accounting for our lives. If we are honest, we must admit that God has blessed us richly, starting with the gift of life itself; and the gift of His love, and all the blessings we have received, materially and spiritually, even though we have given nothing of any value or good to God in return. We have not used the blessings and gifts we have received wisely; and so we have incurred a debt that cannot be repaid. In the parable, the king orders that the debtor be sold, along with his wife an children. When the king’s servant I sold, he will no longer belong to the king, but to another master – and so, as the parable is telling us about God our king, this is to say that sinners will be sold to another master. In fact, sin is already our master; and beyond the sin is Satan. The debtor’s wife stands for his flesh, the companion of his soul; while the children of the debtor, the Fathers tell us, are the evil deeds committed by us in body and soul. Being tormented is actually an act of mercy – for the purpose of the suffering that results is not destruction, but the salvation of the spirit.
We also learn something important about the King. He does not desire the death or punishment of the sinner. His aim is the settlement of accounts, and the carrying out of justice. As a result, when the servant asks for more time to repay what he owes, the King – that is, God – responds even more generously than He was asked to do – for He forgives the debt entirely. When we ask Him to forgive our sins, He does so. The consequences of our sins, and the impacts of our evil deeds may continue; but at the moment we confess and repent, our sins no longer testify against us, no longer are added to the account which we must settle.
Of course, human nature – that is to say, fallen human nature – being what it is, we all tend to be a bit, shall we say, ready to quickly justify our own sins, but quick to condemn others for the same thing. We see this in the servant whose unpayable debt was forgiven. When he meets another of the king’s servants who owes him a mere pittance by comparison, he demands payment; and when the second servant in unable to pay, seizes him by the throat – that is to say, without mercy – and has him thrown into prison until the debt was paid. To make the point even more clear, the words by which the second debtor sought mercy were the exact words the first servant had used to obtain mercy from the king. But the servant whose debt was forgiven by the king did not have mercy on his fellow servant, and so revealed to all his hardness of heart. The end result was that his immense debt was reinstated, and he was given over to torment until the debt was paid – and, as it was not possible for him to make such repayment, this means that his torment will be unending, eternal.
Among other things, this should give us additional insight into a part of the Lord’s Prayer, where we say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We have already established that it is God’s desire to forgive the repentant – but we must repent from the heart. Not only that. Our repentance must be accompanied by a change of heart; and the evidence of this is that we who desire to be forgiven have also learned to forgive. Indeed, forgiveness is such that we no longer condemn others for their sins, but pray for the Lord to have mercy on them – learning from His example, as He suffered on the Cross, praying for mercy for those who were responsible for His suffering and death.
Brothers and sisters: We do well to repent, and seek the mercy of God, and the forgiveness of our sins. We do well to amend our lives, and turn away from our sins, as a form of expressing our gratitude to God. We will also do well to forgive others their offenses against us, and to pray for them, and to show them mercy – not just so that we may also be forgiven, but that we may labor to make our hearts more closely resemble the heart of God, and love with His love – to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.
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