Ecclesiasticus 27:33-28:9; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35
The call for justice and accountability is human and necessary for communities to live in harmony, and for those who are hurt to receive true closure. However, this call is sometimes mixed with the feeling for vengeance. Vengeance carried out is when the victim demands that the one who has been the cause for hurt and injustices is punished in a way that equals or surpasses the hurt that the victim had endured.
This is where the Wisdom literature asks for caution. Pure vengeance will lead to a spiral of evil doings, a spiral that can only be stopped if one person is ready to forgive.
Showing forgiveness instead of vengeance does not mean avoiding accountability. On the contrary. In Ecclesiasticus, the word ‘pity’ or ‘compassion’ is used. These are feelings beyond justice. If someone admits their wrongdoing and asks for forgiveness, there is no room for hatred and vengeance. The judges will take care of the accountability – including God as our ultimate judge. We are asked to be compassionate and not to commit the same sins that the person had committed against us.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul points out that in all our diversity and in all we do we belong to Jesus Christ and that the way we act has an impact on others. ‘No man is an island’ as John Donne reiterated in the 17th century. Even our life and death might influence others, and our most important example for doing so with integrity is to follow the example of Christ.
Jesus has been preparing his disciples and has been giving them advice on how to be fair judges. Even when someone has sinned, he asks them to be fair to the person and to first address the person directly before escalating the situation and eventually even excluding the person from their community.
Now, Peter asks Jesus how many times he would have to forgive someone who wronged him. His rhetorical question sounds like he wants to show that he has learned from Jesus’ teachings and that he would be more than just by suggesting forgiving a person seven times. While he might have thought that this was more than the person would deserve, Jesus’ answer of seventy-seven times must have shocked him. Before Peter could reply, Jesus tells him a parable.
The parable is about a story from the Kingdom of Heaven – a kingdom which would have been considered to be perfect. In a clear picture, the Golden Rule is applied. If someone asks for mercy, it is important to be compassionate, and even more so after having received a very generous pardon themselves.
The story of the unforgiving steward doesn’t mention how many times a person should be forgiven but rather concentrates on the size of the debt. When we ask for forgiveness, God will be merciful but at the same time, God also expects us to be merciful to others. God’s mercy and compassion as a ripple effect.
Is the punishment of the steward a type of vengeance? We don’t know if the steward’s master overturns the punishment that the steward’s debtor has endured, but we know that the master who had been generous in his forgiveness, finally holds his steward accountable for the way he treated his own debtor.
When we hear the story, we feel that the punishment of the steward is justified. However, if we go back to Peter’s question, we might have to think about other situations where the wrongs we are enduring are not necessarily huge, but constant. Not seven times but seventy-seven times. These are so many times that it sounds like ‘always’. Don’t get tired to forgive. No matter how often you have to do it.
Parables are meant to produce a change of heart. As Pope Leo XIV said: “Indeed, Jesus’ Resurrection is not a bombastic triumph, nor is it revenge or retaliation against his enemies,” the Pope reflected. Rather, “It is a wonderful testimony to how love is capable of rising again after a great defeat in order to continue its unstoppable journey.” (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-10/pope-leo-xiv-general-audience-1-october-2025.html)
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