The Parable of the Debtors is found in Matthew 18:23-34. This story features a king and two subjects, whom, for ease, I will call John and Paul. John owes the king a ridiculously large sum of money. When the king asks for payment, John cannot repay and pleads for more time. The king gives John far more than he asks for; he forgives John the entire debt.
John leaves this encounter and immediately bumps into Paul, who owes John a relative pittance. Paul cannot repay the debt, though, and pleads for more time. John feels no mercy and throws Paul into prison until he can work off the debt.
The king gets wind of this interaction and summons John. The king cannot comprehend why John showed no mercy when he had just been shown such great mercy. In anger, the king throws John into prison until he repays his debt.
So, at the end we are left with two people, John and Paul, both in the same place (prison) and both equally distanced from their king and his kingdom.
We spend quite a bit of time discussing this parable. It has a lot of angles. But one question that seems to always come up is why the king doesn't free Paul from prison. I can't recall children questioning the king's action of sending John to prison, but every time, there is wondering as to why the king doesn't "set things right" by getting Paul out of prison.
As I've written before, Level III organizes itself around two key messages:
- A plan has always existed in the mind of God, the purpose of which is to bring all humanity and all creation into the fullness of God through a cosmic communion of love.
- The history of the Kingdom of God has been, and continues to be, written by people all over the world, of all types and all ages. We are each called to contribute to this history.
One thing I like about this parable is that it gives us a chance to think about the importance of human collaboration with God to move toward the fulfillment of God's Plan, to move toward Parousia, the time when God will be all in all. The children feel a tension between the injustice in this story and their perception that "God forgives everything." If God can forgive anything, why is Paul in prison? That doesn't sound right.
It is hard to work through the possibility that the king cannot forgive Paul's debt to John. That debt is between Paul and John, and only John can forgive it. The materials in the Atrium do, however, show clearly that John's refusal to forgive imprisons both Paul and John. It's indeed a lot to think over.
Just a couple verses before this parable, Jesus tells his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt 18:18) In fact, similar words are stated multiple times in the Gospels of Matthew and of John.
We can associate these passages with the institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, concluding that Jesus was conferring on those disciples the responsibility to impart the gift of absolution. But this passage could also be read more broadly, especially in consideration of the parable. If the words are directed to all disciples (as opposed to the smaller group called the Apostles), then the message is said to each and all of us since we are Christ's disciples through our Baptism. What we each bind on earth is held bound in heaven. I distance myself from the Kingdom when I hold someone bound on earth. Worse yet, I may also distance that person, or even whole groups of people, from the Kingdom when I hold a person or people or an act or acts bound.
This is a lot to think about and work through. I'm pretty sure some children leave such a presentation with questions and conflicts. Sometimes it feels unfair how little time we actually have to talk through such a rich parable. I always pray for these beautiful children that they'll encounter such stories again and again throughout their lives and continue to welcome their feelings and questions and keep working toward greater understanding.
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