The Lord's Sermons
- Sermon 47 -
Twenty-First Sunday After Trinity. The Parable of the Unfaithful Servant
St. Matthew XVIII, 23-35: "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
(April 28, 1872)
On many occasions I mentioned to you that I had to interpret in detail for My disciples and other followers all that is said in My two commandments of love and explained even more clearly in the ten commandments of Moses. But since I was dealing with people who wanted detailed directions, so that they would know how to behave in various situations, I had to take every opportunity to either give full explanations of the commandments or illustrate them through parables in such a way that they could serve as a basis in all situations.
Therefore, you find in this chapter, from beginning to end, rules of conduct, partly clearly explained, partly in metaphors and parables, so as to make sure that My disciples and the future followers of My teaching would know beyond doubt how to behave in different situations and also how to successfully teach others about it.
In the beginning, My disciples were still like young children and unable to comprehend the high concepts concerning Me and My Kingdom as they did after I had poured out My Spirit over them. Thus you often find them asking surprisingly innocent and simple questions. How could My disciples, who were at all times under the influence of My presence, My words and deeds, still ask: "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" If My disciples could still ask such questions, you can imagine how the others were thinking, who knew even less. Therefore, My answer and what is said in the following verses is plain.
I compared the simplicity of a child with the angelic minds of the beings closest to Me. Just as My angels should not be insulted, thus also those with the simple mind of a child must not be offended, since they are guileless, and children generally trust all who approach them. Therefore, it is the greatest sin to meet this simplicity with deceit, scorn, ridicule and hate. This is also referred to in the following verses, where it says allegorically that if a person's soul is governed by a passion, it is better to make every effort to overcome it than to have the soul perish through this one passion.
These examples and parables are presented in the allegories of the language of that time, which is still today widely used in the orient.
After having pointed out to My disciples that it is better to sacrifice a part of one's self than one's whole soul, I told them in the subsequent verses about the joy I, as the Creator, experience if nothing of what I once set into the world is lost but everything eventually returns to Me, purified and spiritualized. This is clearly expressed in the parables about the shepherd and the lost sheep.
I also told My disciples how the lost can be saved by helping to better the erring and sinners without hurting their self-love. I gave them advice for the handling of the stubborn sinners as well as the not so stubborn. I further assured them that if two people who have become of one mind should ask for My blessing, I would never deny it to them. I told them that where two were together in My name I would be with them as the third, as the spirit of peace and unity. I pointed out to them that the penitent brother must be forgiven his sins, not just once but countless times to make his betterment possible. I told them that if they forgave a brother his sins in the spirit of tolerance, I, too, would forgive and forget them.
I gave them the parable of the unfaithful servant. With this parable I wanted to emphasize what I had already taught in the prayer I left them, wherein it says: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" - so that in the case of stubborn sinners they might not lose patience and condemn where they should forgive, or curse where they should bless.
I chose this extreme example of the unfaithful servant to prevent them from finding any excuse for being hard - not even with a single word, be it out of exaggerated zeal or genuine wrong judgment and intolerance where human errors are concerned. Thus I taught them to understand My forbearance and My boundless patience, proving to them why I let My sun rise above the good and the bad, because I am the essence of love and love does not want to punish but only to better.
In this chapter you find a full illustration of human life as it is meant to be: How man, guided solely by love, should look up to Me with childlike trust, act always without deceit and mental reservation, with no other purpose in mind than to please Me, his Father, thus to become worthy of being called "My child". It is also shown how a person should keep awakening love with a child's simplicity, and that it would be a sin to repay with evil the good intended by a person who approached you with simplicity and trust. It also demonstrates how the love of one's neighbour is to be understood and how a person should endeavour to draw a brother's attention to his errors very gently, resorting only in the worst cases to strict measures, but always forgive, forget and, finally, even return good for evil.
This chapter presents the entire spiritual mission of man, how he is to educate himself to become the child I want him to be, and how he is to influence his fellowmen and guide them to Me, so that in the beyond he will be what I had intended when I created the first man - My worthy image.
In this way you should read and understand My Gospels; then My grace will enlighten you, and in the parables you will not see the hard bark of the tree of life but recognize the core of divine truth concealed behind it. In order to achieve this and comprehend what is concealed from the profane eye, it requires spiritual vision and deep insight.
In this way the Bible becomes a source of help and light in all human circumstances, and the enlightened reader will find that for over a thousand years this book has preserved the greatest treasures to be mankind's sole guide and prove how I had already made provision in those times, that nothing would be lost of what was said for all times and eternities.
Before long, people will be asked with greater severity whether they actually know what they are here for and whether they know why I came to this earth. Now the time has come to remove the "bark" of the letter and phrasing of My Gospels and to show men the brilliant stream of divine light under this seemingly hard bark, so that in these latter days they might still make up for their neglect of themselves and others to enable them to fulfil their mission. This is the reason for My numerous explanations and interpretations and for all these Sunday sermons, so that no one can say he had not known or undertood this or that.
I am the God of light, love and wisdom. One day, when I shall return, no darkness will be able to exist beside Me. Therefore, it must become light in the hearts of all men. They must all learn to love in order to be able to use this love, combined with wisdom, on their fellowmen.
The reason for My words, the purpose of My warnings and the ultimate goal of My striving is to make you into My children and change the world once more into a paradise -as it was at the time of the first men - where there is neither hate nor anger or mockery, but only love, peace and tranquility among all beings; and where man, the ultimate work of creation on earth, combines within him all the divine attributes.
Thus it shall be, and everything has to strive towards this! Aspire to fulfil your mission - you and all men - by perfecting yourselves as much as possible! Do all you can to direct also your fellowmen to the same goal, then My words will not be wasted on you and you shall become worthy of being called "My children" and in the world beyond find the Father Who is endeavouring with so much love and patience to save His lost sheep, already here! Amen.