Matthew 18
Most will agree that technology advances as time goes. But I wonder if our world enjoys more justice year by year. Can we simply say our Western societies are more just than the ancient Roman Empire? It is a complicated question to answer. Every year sees unbelievable breaches of justice. While our society declares relativism and pluralism as our social principles, now we ask if there can be justice for all and for each one. If I were the standard of justice, my justice might not be justice at all to another.
The parable Jesus tells us today reveals what is justice in the kingdom of heaven. The king had all the right to demand his due from his slaves. But he was compassionate to them. And he forgave the debt of a slave who owed him ten thousand talents (a talent was average annual salary). The king exercised mercy and compassion over justice. However, the slave who was now forgiven of his debt of ten thousand talents didn’t forgive his fellow slave’s debt of a hundred denarii (one denarius was average daily salary) but demanded his justice. Then, the king finally exacted his due from the slave.
In the kingdom of heaven, mercy and compassion come first before justice as the relational and social principles. How is it possible? It’s because there is no limit on God’s resources. He is the source of all being. We all received every single thing including our being from him. There can be no justice we can demand from God. He created us and gives all out of love. Love comes first in the order of being. And he still has mercy and compassion on our sinfulness and forgives us of sins for which we cannot repay.
If we realize how much God gives and forgives us, we will be merciful and compassionate because all we are have been freely given. If the kingdom of heaven is among us, we will also follow its law – the law of mercy and compassion. Justice, then, will only be a punishment for those who are unforgiving.
