Building on the themes of resentment, vengeance and forgiveness as espoused in today’s first Reading, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” The number seven symbolises completeness in Jewish culture following the seven days of creation (Gen 1:1-2:3), and the number of candle holders contained in the candelabrum for worship as instructed by God to Moses (Ex 25:31-39).

In Peter’s worldview, if one has forgiven an offender seven times, then one should be at liberty to retaliate. In some cultures, like the wider Australian culture, one may let go of an offence up to the second time, but one is at liberty to retaliate on the third offence.

In pre-Mosaic times, people avenged for every offence committed against them. The retaliations were often disproportionate to the injuries received, for instance, one might kill for feeling insulted by the other (Gen 4:23). Moses’ “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Ex 21:24), was to moderate the extent to which one can exact revenge.

To Peter’s suggestion that the offended party should seek vengeance after the seventh offence, Jesus replied that the offender should be forgiven seventy-seven times, which implied infinity. This Jesus’ reply runs contrary to our human nature. Some offences and the injuries they inflict on us run so deep that they affect the fibre of our being in such a manner that we abhor the perpetrators. Think about the state of mind of Christians undergoing persecution, being massacred just because they profess Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour, or a woman who has been gang raped.

Forgiveness does not exclude the probability of the perpetrators facing prosecution if they had committed criminal offenses or making amend for the harm they had caused. We recall that Satisfaction or Restitution is one of the three constituent parts of Reconciliation. Restitution requires us to restore what we have damaged, like the good name of somebody. It may also include undergoing imprisonment for one’s reformation.

Let me reiterate, forgiveness does not preclude the offender experiencing some punishment, however, it means that the offended party is ready to let go — to move on, to turn a new page. The underlying principle is that the offended party has come to the point whereby the hurt and the bitterness of one’s past experiences are no longer allowed to be eliciting hate and anger in one’s life. We should always remember that God is totally the other and he lives in an unapproachable light, yet he forgives us our sins. He so loves us that he sent his only Begotten Son to redeem the world. If we reflect on the infinite love God has lavished on us, then we may have a perspectival approach to the hurt inflicted on us by our neighbour’s unruly behaviour. We must not forget that to sin is human, but to forgive is divine.