Just as I had pity on you. Homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A.

This Sunday’s gospel comes from the fourth major discourse of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. This discourse is about life within the community. Peter asks Jesus how often must he forgive the brother who wrongs him. Jesus responds to the question with the parable of the unforgiving debtor. As disciples of Jesus we have received, as a result of Christ’s costly generosity, remission of a debt, the debt of sin, a debt that we ourselves could never repay. How utterly inappropriate, then, is an unwillingness to forgive others who, on a vastly smaller scale, have offended us.