Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Protodeacon Edward Kostraby on the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 8, 2026
Forgiving and showing mercy is not easy, this is understood, but, by starting, starting with small issues, we start building it into our lives until it becomes a habit of life, a life long process, becoming something we do naturally, until we take on the habit of Jesus, coming from a person’s inner core.
Today’s gospel of Matthew (18:23–35) focuses sharply on human weakness, ambition, the need for mercy and to reach out to those who stray and to forgive, as is often with the parables of Jesus, we are challenged to see reality very differently from what we are expected to accept and take on by the world. It is a radically upside down kingdom a clash of world views.
A man who has just barely escaped debtor’s prison would certainly be anxious to recall any outstanding loans he has given — after all he is short of money. The parable reminds us that in human relations, both the one who seeks forgiveness and the one in a position to forgive, are both servants in God’s eyes, however much one would like to claim the privileges of a victim. Debtor’s prison, the hopeless situation of being confined until one can repay a debt, perfectly describes the deadened situation of all humanity if we play this game. Forgiveness and mercy are the chief characteristics we must have if we are to really understand the teachings of Jesus.
This parable is important as it is the major theme from the life of Jesus and as Christians, it should be a high priority in our lives. Let’s do some calculations here. In the bible at times we hear the words denari and talent as this was the currency used at the time. A denarius was = a days wage, a talent was equal to around 6,000 denari, now that’s 6,000 working days, years and years of work, so by the king writing off 60,000,000 denari (a life time of work which even meant one’s ancestors could be paying the bill well into many generations — basically perpetual slavery) was truly a kingly amount, which only kings had access to and not ever possible for the servant or an ordinary person to pay, this was an act of generosity and mercy.
In today’s world, we see a continual crisis from global conflict to local homes, it is easy to see that major cause of conflict is an unwillingness to extend forgiveness. The rivalry between Palestinian and Jew, for example, has escalated in the last 70 years standing as a stark, bloody reminder as does the war in Ukraine of this systemic incapacity to forgive and many dangerous resurgence of direct confrontations between states alongside devastating, long-running internal civil wars roughly 130 active armed conflicts raging globally. Then scale down to individual homes for example, not forgiving members of the immediate family arise over and over again until relationships are so poisoned that violence erupts and people, good people who had high hopes and ideals for each other vanish.
This is not an abstract theory. A recent statistic from the Victoria Police revealed that there were approximately 98,800 incidents from family violence and abuse incidents reported in a single year across Victoria—and that number is increasing. The figures for the rest of Australia go into the millions. This is a staggering reality, occurring right alongside the daily stream of global violence screened locally every night on our news broadcasts.
The Our Father, a well known prayer says: “forgive us our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us”, we are asking, imploring God to look after us, indeed as we have looked after others, that he will look kindly on us in this life and the one to come.
Forgiving, unfortunately, does not guarantee good fruit in that person forgiven. In today’s reading, the heartlessness of the forgiven man, his disregard of his obligation to emulate the gracious example of the king is evil and a sin. He gets justice for himself, but shows no mercy to another person in a similar situation.
Mercy given puts a person under obligation to repeat the same mercy to others. Even though a person receives forgiveness, it does not guarantee that the person will be a better person, as we generally believe — as leniency shown to murders, rapists and thieves — often they repeat.
We also need to see a track record of overcoming problems before we can consider them trustworthy, but we can still be forgiving.
The sting in the gospel is at the end: and in anger, the king handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt (which we know is impossible) and then comes the final sentence—the warning is meant for every person and that is how God will deal with us unless each person forgives from ones heart. If we do not forgive, God is justified in not forgiving us and what a calamity that would be. We live in a world rife with anger and hatred. Tempers flare and crime persists. Though forgiveness may not come naturally, it is what God asks of us.
We need to start off small and slowly as the years consume us, we are called to really make this part and parcel of our lives, a need to forgive because forgiveness will produce peace within us and it is the way to ultimately — break the cycle of disharmony. It should be the characteristic of the one following Jesus. Paul in Colossians pleads: “put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering and forgiving one another… .and let the peace of God rule your hearts, to which you are called in one body”.
St John Chrysostom writes: “He [Jesus] does not limit forgiveness to a fixed number, but signifies that it must be continuous and forever.” basically that we must not confine forgiveness to a specific number of instances, to be choosy, as Jesus asks us to forgive continually and whenever the need arises.
Forgiving and showing mercy is not easy, this is understood, but, by starting, starting with small issues, we start building it into our lives until it becomes a habit of life, a life long process, becoming something we do naturally, until we take on the habit of Jesus, coming from a person’s inner core. Unforgiveness sets a barrier between us and God and in the world we live in and so it is repeated and further entraps people. I would be a fool to suggest that it is simple to do, we cannot just decide to do it, but start lowly, with prayer as God’s will ultimately be there for us.
What this parable brings out is the sense that forgiveness and as Christians if we only revert to justice, then the same will be given us by God, so in a strange way we are choosing our own punishment when our life ends — we have time and we can make changes, grasp them, think about it and move. We can get help, read talk to people, observe, confess. We can intellectualise, but action is required, we never reach a goal by thinking and waiting.
