Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 11: 20-24
August 14, 2025 | Thursday

Today’s Gospel

Then Peter asked him, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-se of gold. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, his children and all his goods, as repayment.

The servant threw himself at ven times.

This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven: A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. Among the first of them was one who owed him ten thousand piecesthe feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him, and not only set him free, but even canceled his debt.

When this servant left the king’s presence, he met one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the throat and almost choked him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His fellow servant threw himself at his feet and begged him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ But the other did not agree, and sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt.

Now the servants of the king saw what had happened. They were extremely upset, and so they went and reported everything to their lord. Then the lord summoned his servant and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed me when you begged me to do so. Weren’t you bound to have pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ The lord was now angry. He handed the wicked servant over to be punished, until he had paid the whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will my heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”

When Jesus had finished these sayings, he left Galilee and arrived at the border of Judea, on the other side of the Jordan River.

Today’s Reflection

The beginning of the Book of Joshua in the Lectionary parallels the crossing of the Red Sea to show us Joshua’s unusual status as Moses’ successor. Joshua will implement and execute the occupation of the promised land. This was done not by military overthrow, but as the later text shows us, the process was rather gradual and not as presented to us. Davidic time was the total conquest as David conquered the stronghold of the Jebusites and named it the “City of David” or Jerusalem. The crossing, with the Ark in Front of the People carried by the priests, was depicted elaborately. The depiction illustrated that the Lord is with Joshua, like Moses and the people of Israel. Hence, Joshua should be followed as a leader; just as the people of Israel followed Moses and entrusted in him the leadership accorded to him. For the Lord was with Joshua. Conjecturally, maybe the task was given to Joshua, for he was a military man and the leader of Israel’s army. Moses was already too old to carry the task. Moses’ task was to bring the people out of Egypt and bring them to the promised land. This chapter is important because it is the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise. As we reflect on this story, the Lord chooses the appropriate person to implement his will, and it is a daunting task of discernment and knowing the will of God for us in the different tasks given to us; it might not be what we wanted or desire in the society or even in the Christian community.

How many times must I forgive my brother? Peter’s question gives credence to the inquiry. Jesus’ answer revises the whole idea of unconditional forgiveness. The Christian community will become credible only by the measure it forgives and its openness to reconciliation. Christian living cannot be done without upsetting or loving one another. Forgiveness is the only way to restore its balance. Jesus teaches this, as a form of petition, in the “Lord’s Prayer:” “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The sin here is personal but has communal implications. The episode is not concerned about the quantity of forgiveness but with the quality of forgiveness. It means it has no limits. If God has put no limits, so should the person not put limits on giving forgiveness

and reconciliation.

/Vulnerasti, 2025