Homily for Thursday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time

Peter was a prominent figure in the community where Matthew lived. It is only in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus refers to Simon Peter as the "rock" upon which He will build His Church. It is also only in Matthew's Gospel that Peter asks, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

In their culture, the number seven symbolized fullness and completion. To forgive someone seven times would be seen as the greatest extent of forgiveness. However, Jesus responds to Peter and us by saying, "I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." This emphasizes that our willingness to forgive one another should have no limits.

Jesus understands that it is part of human nature to impose harsh limits on our willingness to forgive. Yet, He encourages us to look to God's infinite mercy as a model for how we should forgive.

In today's parable, Jesus highlights how forgiving God is. Setting a high standard, He calls on us to mirror God's mercy in our readiness to forgive those who have wronged us. As stated in Chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel, we are encouraged to "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."