Pew bulletin
Fr Vijay’s sermon
Sermon on Matthew 18:21-35
Illustration: In 1990, a young man named Michael was driving home late at night, when he ran a red light. His car smashed into another vehicle, killing the driver, a father of three named David. Michael was sentenced to prison, consumed by guilt and shame. David’s widow, Sarah, was consumed by rage. She visited Michale in prison, not to comfort him, but to scream at him, to make him feel the pain she felt every day.
But something unexpected happened. Over time, those visits changed. Sarah began to see Michael’s genuine repentance. Michael began to see Sarah’s unbearable grief. One day, after years of anger, Sarah said to him, “I forgive you.” It wasn’t easy. It didn’t erase the pain. But it set them both free. Michael eventually left prison and started a ministry to at-risk youth. Sarah found peace she never thought was possible.
That’s the kind of radical; life changing forgiveness Jesus talks about in today’s gospel in Matthew 18:21-35.
Peter comes to Jesus with what he thinks is a generous question: “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” in that culture, forgiving three times was considered plenty. Seven was over the top. But Jesus blows the roof off: “Not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Then He tells a story that would have shocked His listeners.
Here’s what happens:
· A king decides to settle accounts with his servants.
· One servant owes him ten thousand talents, an amount so huge it’s like owing billions of dollars today. There’s no way he could ever pay it back.
· The servant begs for mercy, and the king, moved with compassion, cancels the entire debt. Free. Gone.
· That same servant walks out and finds a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii, maybe a few week’s wages. He grabs him by the throat and says, “Pay me now!”
· The fellow servant begs for patience, but the first servant refuses and has him thrown into prison.
· When the king hears about this, he’s furious. “You wicked servant!” he says. “I forgave you everything. Shouldn’t you have shown mercy to your fellow servant, just as I showed mercy to you?”
· The king reverses his decision and hands the unforgiving servant over to be tortured until he pays back everything.
· Jesus ends with a sobering warning: “this is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Three points to take home:
1. God’s Forgiveness to Take Home
The debt in Jesus’ story is so large it’s almost ridiculous. Ten thousand talents were more than most kings made in a year. Jesus is saying: the sim and brokenness we bring to God is beyond our ability to fix. But God’s mercy is bigger still. He doesn’t just reduce the debt; He cancels it completely.
2. Unforgiveness is a prison we build for ourselves
The unforgiving servant had been set free, but he chose to live like a prisoner again, this time, a prisoner of his own bitterness. When we refuse to forgive, we think we’re punishing the other person. But the truth is, we’re locking ourselves in a cell of anger, resentment, and pain. Forgiveness does not say what happened was okay. It says: I’m not going to let this control me anymore.
3. Forgiven People become forgiving people.
Jesus’ point is simple but stunning: if you’ve truly received God’s forgiveness, it will change how you treat others. You can’t hold onto God’s mercy with one hand and strangle someone else with the other. Forgiveness isn’t optional for those who follow Jesus, it’s evidence that we’ve received what He offers.
Closing Challenge
This week, think of one person you’ve been holding a grudge against. Maybe it’s someone who hurt you deeply, betrayed your trust, or let you down when you needed them most. Ask yourself: what would it look like to forgive them “from the heart,” as Jesus says?
It might mean: Releasing your right to get even. Praying for God to bless them, even when it feels impossible. Choosing, again, to let go of the debt. Because here’s the truth: forgiveness isn’t just something we do. It’s something we become people, who reflect the mercy we’ve received. And that kind of life doesn’t just change us. It changes the world around us.
May God bless us all. Amen.