Gospel in Art: "You wicked servant," he said

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, by Claude Vignon,1629 © Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 17 September 2023
Matthew 18:21-35

Peter went up to Jesus and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?' Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

'And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet.

"Give me time" he said "and I will pay the whole sum." And the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. "Pay what you owe me" he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, "Give me time and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. "You wicked servant," he said "I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.'

Reflection on the painting

Our painting from 1629 by Claude Vignon depicts the king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants as per today's Gospel reading. We see the king leaning backwards in a semi-relaxed pose. The wicked servant is being brought before him, held by two other lavishly dressed servants. Gold coins, books and debt sheets are lying in front of the king and take up almost the entire bottom half of the painting. Claude Vignon was born into a wealthy family in Tours, where the current painting is held. He likely travelled to Rome as early as 1609 when he was only 16 years old and formed part of the French community of painters there. We can clearly feel the Roman and Caravagesque influence of painting in our canvas.

It can be helpful to pay attention to the questions that others may have about our faith. We can always learn from others. Today we find such an important question on the lips of Saint Peter. He asks Jesus, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me?' He could have simply asked: is there a limit to forgiveness? Peter proposes an answer to his own question, 'Seven times'. In the Jewish tradition, the number 'seven' was the symbol of perfection. Peter must have been confident that the answer 'seven' would have been acceptable to Jesus. Instead, Jesus answers, 'Not seven but seventy-seven times'. Poor old Peter was probably sorry he had ever asked the question in the first place! As so often, Jesus explains himself by telling a story, this time about the wicked servant, as depicted in our painting.

The first part of the story is one of absolute forgiveness. The master simply cancels the debt. Jesus is suggesting that there is nothing calculating about God's forgiveness. God is simply incredibly generous. The second part of the story suggests that receiving God's boundless forgiveness requires us to pass on that forgiveness to others. In this, the servant failed. And that is why he was judged: having received forgiveness, the servant refused to pass it on. For that he was judged.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-18-21-35-2023-2/