John Chrysostom, On the Debtor of Ten Thousand Talents

This one, having been well treated, was about to show favor, but the master, having seen no good, small or great, done by him, forgave everything. But nevertheless he considered none of these things, but, being completely blinded by anger, he choked him and threw him into prison. But when his fellow servants saw this, it says, they were indignant, and before the master the fellow servants condemn him, so that you may learn the master's gentleness. But when his master heard, and having called him, he again judges him, and not even so does he simply pass the sentence, but first he justifies it. And what does he say? You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt. What could be better than this master? When he owed him the ten thousand talents, he did not grieve him even with a word, nor did he call him wicked, but only commanded that he be sold; and this, that he might be released from his debts. But when he became wicked toward his fellow servant, then he becomes angry and is provoked, so that you may learn that He more easily forgives offenses against Himself than sins against neighbors. And not only here does He do this, but also elsewhere. For if you are offering your gift, it says, at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Do you see how He everywhere prefers our affairs to His own, and considers nothing higher than peace and love toward one's neighbor? And again elsewhere: Whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her commit adultery. And through Paul He legislated thus: If any man has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, let him not leave her. For if she commits fornication, he says, cast her out; but if she is an unbeliever, do not cast her out; if she sins against you, he says, cut her off; but if she sins against me, keep her. So also here, when he sinned so many sins against him51.29, he forgave; but when he sinned much smaller and lesser sins against his fellow servant, he did not forgive, but pursued it; and here he called him wicked, but there he did not grieve him even with a word. For this reason, this is also added here, that being angry he delivered him to the tormentors; but when he demanded of him an account of the ten thousand talents, he added nothing of the sort; so that you may learn that that verdict was not of anger, but of a care that led to forgiveness; but this sin particularly provoked him. What then could be worse than bearing a grudge, when it revokes the philanthropy of God that was brought forth, and what his own sins did not have the strength to bring upon him, this the anger against his neighbor has the strength to work in him? And yet it is written, that the gifts of God are irrevocable. How then here, after the gift was brought forth, after the philanthropy had proceeded, was the verdict called back again? Because of bearing a grudge; so that one would not err in declaring this to be more grievous than any sin; for all the others were able to find forgiveness, but this not only did not have the strength to obtain pardon, but it also renewed again the others that had been completely wiped away. So that bearing a grudge is a twofold evil, both because it has no defense before God, and because our other sins, even if they are forgiven, it recalls again and sets them against us; which is what it also did here. For there is nothing, nothing that God so hates and turns away from, as a man who bears a grudge and holds on to anger. And this He has shown especially from this, and from the prayer itself He commanded us to say thus: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Knowing all these things, therefore, and having inscribed this parable in our hearts, when we consider what we have suffered from our fellow servants, let us consider what we have done to the

οὗτος μὲν εὖ παθὼν ἔμελλε χαριεῖσθαι, δεσπότης δὲ οὐ μικρὸν, οὐ μέγα ἀγαθὸν ἰδὼν παρ' αὐτοῦ γενόμενον, πάντα ἀφῆκεν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲν τούτων ἐνενόησεν, ἀλλὰ καθάπαξ ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς πηρωθεὶς ἦγχεν αὐτὸν, καὶ εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἐνέβαλεν. Ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ σύνδουλοι αὐτοῦ, φησὶν, ἠγανάκτησαν, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ δεσπότου οἱ σύνδουλοι καταψηφίζονται, ἵνα μάθῃς τοῦ δεσπότου τὸ ἥμερον. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ δεσπότης αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλέσας αὐτὸν, πάλιν κρίνεται πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἁπλῶς ἐκφέρει τὴν καταδίκην, ἀλλὰ πρότερον δικαιολογεῖται. Καὶ τί φησι; ∆οῦλε πονηρὲ, πᾶσαν τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἐκείνην ἀφῆκά σοι. Τί τούτου γένοιτ' ἂν ἀγαθώτερον τοῦ δεσπότου; Ὅτε μὲν αὐτῷ ὤφειλε τὰ μύρια τάλαντα, οὐδὲ μέχρι ῥήματος αὐτὸν ἐλύπησεν, οὐδὲ πονηρὸν ἐκάλεσεν, ἀλλὰ πραθῆναι μόνον ἐκέλευσε· καὶ τοῦτο, ἵνα ἀπαλλάξῃ τῶν ὀφλημάτων. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὸν σύνδουλον πονηρὸς ἐγένετο, τότε ὀργίζεται καὶ παροξύνεται, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι εὐκολώτερον τὰ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφίησιν, ἢ τὰ εἰς τοὺς πλησίον ἁμαρτήματα. Καὶ οὐκ ἐνταῦθα μόνον τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ. Ἐὰν γὰρ προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, ὕπαγε, πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε ἐλθὼν πρόσφερε τὸ δῶρόν σου. Ὁρᾷς πῶς πανταχοῦ τῶν αὑτοῦ τὰ ἡμέτερα προτιμᾷ, καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τῆς ἀγάπης τῆς εἰς τὸν πλησίον οὐδὲν ἀνώτερον τίθησιν; Καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ· Ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὑτοῦ παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας, ποιεῖ αὐτὴν μοιχευθῆναι. ∆ιὰ δὲ Παύλου οὕτως ἐνομοθέτει· Εἴ τις ἀνὴρ γυναῖκα ἔχει ἄπιστον, καὶ αὐτὴ συνευδοκεῖ οἰκεῖν μετ' αὐτοῦ, μὴ ἀφιέτω αὐτήν. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ πορνεύσῃ, φησὶν, ἔκβαλε· ἂν δὲ ἄπιστος ᾖ, μὴ ἐκβάλῃς· ἐὰν εἰς σὲ ἁμάρτῃ, φησὶν, ἀπόκοψον· ἐὰν δὲ εἰς ἐμὲ ἁμάρτῃ, κάτεχε. Οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, ὅτε μὲν εἰς αὐ51.29 τὸν ἥμαρτεν ἁμαρτήματα τοσαῦτα, συνεχώρησεν· ὅτε δὲ εἰς τὸν σύνδουλον ἥμαρτεν ἐλάττονα πολλῷ καὶ βραχίω τῶν εἰς τὸν δεσπότην, οὐκ ἀφῆκεν, ἀλλ' ἐπεξῆλθε· καὶ ἐνταῦθα μὲν πονηρὸν ἐκάλεσεν, ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐδὲ μέχρι ῥήματος αὐτὸν ἐλύπησε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μὲν καὶ ἐνταῦθα καὶ τοῦτο πρόσκειται, ὅτι ὀργισθεὶς παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν τοῖς βασανισταῖς· ἡνίκα δὲ αὐτὸν ἀπῄτει λόγον τῶν μυρίων ταλάντων, οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον προσέθηκεν· ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ἐκείνη μὲν ἡ ψῆφος οὐχὶ ὀργῆς ἦν, ἀλλὰ κηδεμονίας πρὸς συγχώρησιν ἐπαγομένης· αὕτη δὲ αὐτὸν μάλιστα παρώξυνεν ἡ ἁμαρτία. Ἄρα τί γένοιτ' ἂν μνησικακίας χεῖρον, ὅταν φιλανθρωπίαν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ἀνακαλεῖται Θεοῦ, καὶ ἅπερ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν αὐτὸν διαθεῖναι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, ταῦτα ἰσχύει αὐτὸν ἐργάσασθαι ἡ κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον ὀργή; Καίτοι γε γέγραπται, ὅτι Ἀμεταμέλητα τὰ χαρίσματα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πῶς οὖν ἐνταῦθα μετὰ τὸ ἐξενεχθῆναι τὴν δωρεὰν, μετὰ τὸ προχωρῆσαι τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, ἀνεκλήθη πάλιν ἡ ψῆφος; ∆ιὰ τὴν μνησικακίαν· ὥστε οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι, πάσης ἁμαρτίας ταύτην χαλεπωτέραν ἀποφηνάμενος εἶναι· αἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλαι πᾶσαι ἠδυνήθησαν συγχώρησιν εὑρέσθαι, αὕτη δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἴσχυσε συγγνώμης τυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἑτέρας ἀφανισθείσας καθάπαξ ἀνενέωσε πάλιν. Ὥστε διπλοῦν κακὸν ἡ μνησικακία, ὅτι τε οὐδεμίαν ἀπολογίαν ἔχει παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ὅτι τὰ λοιπὰ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτήματα, κἂν συγχωρηθῇ, πάλιν ἀνακαλεῖται, καὶ καθ' ἡμῶν ἵστησιν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἐποίησεν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ, οὐδὲν οὕτως ὁ Θεὸς μισεῖ καὶ ἀποστρέφεται, ὡς ἄνθρωπον μνησίκακον καὶ διατηροῦντα ὀργήν. Καὶ τοῦτο μάλιστα μὲν ἐντεῦθεν ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς εὐχῆς δὲ αὐτῆς ἐκέλευσεν ἡμῖν λέγειν οὕτως· Ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν. Ταῦτα οὖν ἅπαντα εἰδότες, καὶ τὴν παραβολὴν ἐγγράψαντες ταύτην ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις, ὅταν ἐννοήσωμεν ἅπερ πεπόνθαμεν παρὰ τῶν συνδούλων, λογισώμεθα ἅπερ ἐποιήσαμεν εἰς τὸν