(Dreamstime/Yuri Arcurs)
Consuelo Vélez
Editor's note: Welcome to Theologians' Corner, where each week a different woman theologian from around the world offers a fresh reflection on the Sunday readings.
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 13, 2026
Forgiveness is a human reality that constantly challenges us.
In today's Gospel, Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive his brother. He adds, "Up to seven times?"
Jesus replies, "Seventy times seven."
In other words, Jesus tells him: "Always." And this is the mystery of the Christian life. In contrast to the Old Testament law that called for "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," the Gospel goes further: Forgiveness must always be granted.
The reason for this attitude is explained in the parable about the king who forgave the man who could not pay him. In fact, a servant owed him 10,000 talents — a huge sum — and the king ordered that the servant be sold to pay the debt. But the servant begged him for more time, and, indeed, those words moved him, and he forgave him.
But what happened next turned out to be very contradictory. A coworker owed the forgiven laborer 100 denarii — a very small amount — and was also unable to pay him. He asked for more time, but this laborer refused and had him thrown into prison.
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His fellow servants were saddened by this servant's attitude and went to tell the king. Upon learning what had happened, the king became angry with the servant and rebuked him for failing to take into account the forgiveness he had received. Consequently, he severely reprimanded him for his attitude and decided to hand him over to the executioners so that he might pay everything he owed.
This parable is nothing other than the prayer we repeat in the Lord's Prayer, where we ask God to "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." This makes clear why Jesus invites us to forgive always: Our God forgives us without limit, and that is the strength and reason why we, too, should forgive others.
May our recitation of the Lord's Prayer commit us to generous and genuine forgiveness, as we embrace God's forgiveness, which is given to us completely and freely.
