Sirach is one of the deuterocanonical (or in Reformation parlance,
“apocryphal”) books. Until recently it was known only in
a Greek translation, although we knew from the prologue that it was
originally written in Hebrew. Fragments of the Hebrew original have
been discovered at Qumran. The author was Jesus ben Sirach, who
wrote it about 180 BCE.
It was translated into Greek by his grandson about 130 BCE. It is,
therefore, a late book, not too far removed from the New Testament
period. The teaching of our excerpt reaches a height not far from
the New Testament in what it says about forgiveness (see the Sermon
on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, and today’s gospel
about the unforgiving servant).
Responsorial Psalm: 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Slightly different selections of verses from this psalm are used on
the third Sunday of Lent and on the seventh Sunday of the year in
series C.
The reason for its choice today is that human forgiveness is meant
to be patterned after divine forgiveness, as both the first reading
and the gospel testify.
The context of this passage is a discussion about the relation
between the strong and the weak members of the Church. Recent work
on Paul’s letter to the Romans suggests that this discussion
was occasioned by tensions in Rome between Gentile Christians who
were liberal in their attitude toward the law and Jewish Christians
who were scrupulous about legal observances; they were the strong
and the weak, respectively. Paul urges mutual toleration. The strong
in particular should respect the scruples of the weak.
As so often, Paul moves from specific practical problems to the
underlying theological principles. The fundamental principle here is
that no Christian exists by himself or herself, but only in relation
to the Lord (the risen and exalted Kyrios, that is,
Christ), and therefore in relation to other Church members, who are
equally related to the Kyrios.
This excerpt looks very much like a baptismal hymn. This is
indicated by the “we” style common in hymns and by the
way the hymn goes beyond the point immediately at issue, namely, the
relation between weak and strong, to speak of the living and the
dead. As Lord of the living, Christ is the Lord of both groups
within the Church.
The parable of the unforgiving servant is found only in
Matthew’s Gospel. We do not have to deal, therefore, with a
redaction of a known source like Mark or Q. Matthew’s
redactional contributions are: (1) attaching the parable to the
saying about forgiving seventy times seven, with the connecting link
“therefore”; (2) placing this whole complex at the
conclusion of the community discourse, thus making the parable a
moral exhortation for the community; (3) adding the final saying,
which draws the moral.
Note the typically Matthean phrase “my heavenly Father”
(Mt 18:35). Also note that the saying of verse 22 and the teaching of the
parable do not really fit together. The parable does not inculcate
repeated forgiveness but rebukes refusal to show mercy on the part
of those who have received mercy from God.
There is no reason to doubt that this is an authentic Jesus parable.
It fits in perfectly with the situation in his ministry. Jesus has
offered God’s eschatological forgiveness to his hearers
already here and now. If they do not share in this forgiveness with
other people, God will revoke that forgiveness at the last judgment.
This parable was told by Jesus, not as a moral exhortation about
life in the Church, but to shame the consciences of his hearers.