Jesus has just been speaking of the need for the community to make every effort to effect a reconciliation with a member who has committed a serious offence. In today's Gospel, Peter asks how many times must we be prepared to forgive a repentant offender. He generously suggests seven times. "Not seven," replies Jesus, "but seventy-seven times." In other words, indefinitely. The reason is clear. Because God himself never turns away a repentant sinner, no matter how many times they may offend. We must be ready to do the same. To illustrate his point Jesus then tells a parable about two servants of a king. One owes so much that there is no way he can repay and he begs his master to give him time to pay back what he owes. But the king, filled with compassion, wipes out the whole debt. But the same servant comes across a colleague who owes a paltry amount in comparison but, when the man begs for time, he is thrown into a debtors' jail. The first servant is then handed over to torturers till he has paid back every penny. The message is clear: we are that first servant who having been forgiven again and again by our God still refuses to forgive those who have done comparatively paltry acts against us.