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 the 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.”

LECTIO DIVINA:
Read: The Lord asserts His being the only one truly able to carry out justice. He condemns the world’s cycle of offense and vengefulness.
He demands a shift to a ripple and cycle of love and forgiveness.

Reflect: Rwanda, a country in East Africa, suffered a painful and devastating crisis among its people twenty-five years ago. Around 800,000 people,
mostly those belo­nging to the Tutsi tribe, were killed. Until now, the deep wounds and bloody memories continue to divide the nation. Rwanda’s president,
Paul Kagame, insists that forgiveness is the key to end the cycle of retaliation.
Someone accused him of burdening the survivors with the res­ponsibility for the country’s healing. His answer: “It was a painful question,
but I rea­lized the answer was obvious. Survivors are the only ones with something left to give:
their forgiveness.”

Pray: We pray for families, communities, and societies struggling for healing and reconciliation.

Act: List the people you have difficulty to trust again. Talk to them and slowly figure out how they can regain your trust and forgiveness.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020