***
Gospel: Matthew 18: 21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Corrie ten Boom was a Christian who hid Jews in her home during World War Two.
Eventually she was caught and sent to the concentration camps, where her father and sister died in front of her.
After the War, she began traveling to different churches speaking about the need for forgiveness.
Little did she realize just how personal that need would be.
***
After one of her talks in a church in Germany, a man came up to her, asking for her forgiveness. He didn’t know who she was, only that she was a survivor from the War.
But Corrie ten Boom knew exactly who he was. He was a prison guard who repeatedly tortured her, and even killed her sister.
Upon seeing his face, she was paralyzed with fear and hatred.
But he said to her, “I’ve become a Christian! I know I did some horrible things, but I’ve received God’s forgiveness. And now I’d like to ask you, as a victim from the War, will you forgive me?”
She could only hate him.
Suddenly, Corrie felt the Spirit of God rushing through her like fire in her veins, and she cried out, “Thank you, Father, that your love is stronger than my hatred and unforgiveness.”
Reaching out, she said to him, “Brother, give me your hand.” And she hugged him.
***
Corrie ten Boom reminds us that forgiveness is often a divine gift; humanly speaking, there are limits to our ability to let go.
We can forgive someone for stepping on our shoe, but forgiving atrocities committed in war is entirely different.
At some point, God must intervene.
But, “wherever two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus says, “I am there in the midst of them.” And where Jesus is present, anything is possible.
***
