Who is the greatest? Scandals
1 At that time the disciples came to Je sus and asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples,
3 and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whoever be comes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,
5 and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me.
6 If any of you should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and fall, it would be better for you to be thrown into the depths of the sea with a great millstone around your neck.
7 Woe to the world because of so many scandals! Scandals necessarily come, but woe to the one who has brought it about.
8 If your hand or foot drags you into sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with your two hands and two feet.
9 And if your eye drags you into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to be thrown into the fire of hell with your two eyes.
10 See that you do not despise any of these little ones, for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.
11 (The Son of Man has come to save the lost).
12 What do you think of this? If some one has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one?
13 And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost.
14 It is the same with your Father in heaven: there they don’t want even one of these little ones to be lost.
Living together in the Church
15 If your brother or sister has sinned against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 If you are not listened to, take with you one or two others so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he still refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan or a publican.
18 I say to you: whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.
19 In like manner, I say to you: if on earth two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by my heavenly Father.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them.”
21 Then Peter asked him, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
The unmerciful servant
23 This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven. A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants.
24 Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand gold ingots.
25 As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, children and all his goods in payment.
26 The official threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’
27 The king took pity on him and not only set him free but even canceled his debt.
28 This official then left the king’s presence and he met one of his companions who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck and almost strangled him, shouting, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 His companion threw himself at his feet and asked him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’
30 The other did not agree, but sent him to prison until he had paid all his debt.
31 His companions saw what happened. They were indignant and so they went and reported everything to their lord.
32 Then the lord summoned his official and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so.
33 Weren’t you bound to have pity on your companion as I had pity on you?’
34 The lord was now angry, so he handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.”
35 Jesus added, “So will my heavenly Father do with you unless each of you sincerely for give your brother or sister.”
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Comments Mathew, Chapter 18
• 18.1 Here we have the beginning of the fourth Discourse of Matthew’s Gospel, not very consonant but centered on the life of the community. Those who say “Our Father” are not isolated. In place of the nation of Israel, Jesus offers them his Church, which is first of all community of communities.
6-11: concern for the little ones;
12-14: care for those who have strayed;
15-20: a fraternal community in the presence of Christ;
21-35: a community of pardon.
For the commentary on verses 1–5 see Mk 9:33.
THE LITTLE ONES
With verse 5 we pass from the children to the little ones, that is, simple people (such a child refers perhaps to the lowly one). They are little, because they do not count for much in society.
Woe to the world because of so many scandals. Must we recall the real meaning of the word “scandal”? “Scan dalon” in Greek is the little pebble that when unnoticed causes a fall: scandal is not something that makes noise or causes a stir in society but which leads consciences astray and causes those who seemed honest to fall.
Jesus then speaks (v. 7) of the harm caused by social pressures. Many times the little ones strive to raise their standard of living and become more self-reliant, better educated and able to earn more. Often enough, society puts obstacles in the way of anyone who does not want to play dirty and who refuses to imitate the lifestyle of selfish persons. Because of this, the little ones will have to give up, to accept failure, to lose an eye before losing the most important thing, which is to live in the sight of God.
It is better for you to enter life without a hand or a foot. Jesus stresses the incomparable value of eternal life. At times, to gain the Kingdom we will have to sacrifice even our job, our security and our life.
Woe to the world because of so many scandals (v. 7). Sometimes it is an individual who leads others to sin; at other times it is society itself with its corruption, violence and unjust social structures. Jesus invites us to be aware of sin, personal and social: the bad structures will be destroyed, no matter how, by tears and blood (Lk 23:28).
These scandals necessarily come. Jesus lived in a world of violence, but apparently he did not complain about the situation. He did not encourage us to dream of paradise on earth. While some Christian communities aspire to be a flock of sheep meekly surrounding their shepherd, Jesus has a different vision of Christian life.
The real world, the one God is saving, was not created to be an oasis of happiness, but a place where free persons grow through their struggles. Scandals are part and parcel of this world, but the power of evil does not diminish in any way the glory that God will receive in the end. Through suffering and hunger for justice God will awaken love and make it grow.
Verse 10: See commentary on Dn 12:6.
• 12. The parable of the one hundred sheep is also found in the gospel of Luke (15:1). It teaches us several things: Jesus’ special concern for sinners and those who stray and, therefore, the missionary dimension of his apostolate. In fact, Jesus came “to seek and save the lost” (Lk 19:10), “to call the outcasts, not the respectable people” (Mt 9:13). This attitude should impel our parishes and Christian communities to constantly reach out to the un churched and mar ginalized, instead of just working with those who already are in touch with the Church.
• 15. If your brother or sister has sinned… Jesus had told Peter before: What ever you tie on earth will be tied in Heaven. He declares it now for the whole Church. The believers must attempt to settle their suits among themselves, knowing that Christ is among them, as signified in his name Emmanuel: God-with-us.
The text of 18:15 is doubtful. Per haps it was written if your brother or sister has sinned, go … in which case it would refer to the effort of the Christian community to correct one who has gone astray.
Gathered in the name of Jesus (v. 20). The prayer of the community, of the apostolic group, of the Christian cou ple.
Have we noticed that this chapter on the Church is so short? Yet Matthew is the one who is most concerned about the Church of Jesus, whether in the parables of the kingdom or in Peter’s profession of faith.
Jesus does not seem to have said anything whatsoever to his apostles about structures that would emerge (or even disappear): nothing but a community spirit. Welcome for the poor and lowly, never-ending forgiveness and acceptance of others, prayer of a community that has apostolic ambitions and cries to God to give what is asked of him; there we have the sum total of the wisdom and means the Church has in order to confront all that challenges its evangelization.
While we participate in the common activities, overcoming unavoidable conflicts, and per severing in apostolic work, we grow as children of God in truth, thus knowing the Father in truth. The Church, therefore, is that sacred place where we find God, and to express this reality we say that the Church is “the sacrament of God.”
We also speak of several “sacraments”: baptism, eucharist… Some people want to receive the sacraments without having any commitment to the Church; they forget that religious rites confer the grace of God because they are gestures of the Church, which is “the” sacrament of God. God is not contained inside things, but rather reveals himself through the family of Christ, where he wants us to find him: Whatever you tie on earth… Our faithfulness within the Christian community, even if we have to dissent from it, is a sign that we are in the grace of God.
• 21. Seventy-seven times. Compare with Genesis 4:24. Forgiveness must replace the thirst for revenge.
This is about the forgiveness of one who returns repentant: see Luke 17:1.
• 23. THE PARDON
The offenses we suffer from our companions are nothing compared with our offenses against God. While God forgives all, we do not even give others enough breathing space. God does not demand his rights, but we, in demanding them, behave like wicked servants (see Mt 5:43).
This parable goes beyond personal problems. The world needs, above everything else, the forgiveness of God, and those who want a more just society will not achieve it through accusations and hatred.
The parable helps us understand much better another verse in the Bible: Revenge is mine, says the Lord; I will pay each one according to his own conduct. God will not demand an account regarding his own rights, (what we owe him), but regarding the rights of the little ones who, unable to pay, were deprived of them. He will also demand an accounting regarding those who were sorry for their sins but were not forgiven by others.
The fourth Discourse of Matthew’s Gospel ends with this parable on the duty to forgive. The Church has not always been as holy as she should have been. Yet nobody can deny that, at all times, in the Church the mercy of God has been preached and people have learned to forgive.