Reading of Sept. 13, 2026: Matthew 18:21-35
In this issue:
Children’s story: Jesus shares a parable about forgiveness
Essay Question
Bible Accent: Jesus tells another parable about forgiveness.
Spotlight on the Saints: St. Wenceslas
Puzzle: Fill in the blanks
One day, Jesus spoke to the apostles about forgiveness.
“If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother,” Jesus said.
However, if he does not listen, Jesus said to take one or two others along to establish facts on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he again refuses to listen, “tell the church,” Jesus said. “If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a gentile or a tax collector.”
Peter approached Jesus.
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter wanted to know.
“I say to you, not seven times but 77 times,” Jesus replied.
Jesus then told a parable about a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
A servant owed the king a huge amount that he could not repay. The king ordered that the servant, his family and his property be sold to pay the debt.
“Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full,” the servant begged as he fell before the king.
The king was moved with compassion, so he let the servant go and forgave his debt.
After being let go, the servant found his fellow servant, who owed him a smaller amount than what the servant had owed the king.
The servant choked his fellow servant and demanded repayment. When the fellow servant begged for more time to repay the debt, the servant refused and had his fellow servant put in prison.
Some other servants saw what happened and informed the king, who summoned the servant whose debt he had forgiven.
“You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?” the king said.
In his anger, the king handed the servant over to his torturers until the servant could repay the entire debt.
“So will my heavenly Father do to you,” Jesus said, “unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Matthew 18
Q&A
1. How often did Jesus say to forgive someone?
2. Why did the king forgive the servant’s debt?
Essay Question
When have you forgiven someone?
Bible Accent
In Luke 15, we can read another parable about forgiveness.
Beginning in verse 11, Jesus shared a story about a man and his two sons.
The younger son wanted to leave home, so he asked for his share of his father’s estate. His father gave it to him, and the younger son set off for a distant country, where he squandered all of his money.
When a famine struck the country, he could not afford to support himself. He found work tending swine, and he was so hungry that he was tempted to eat the animals’ food.
The younger son returned to his senses and decided to go home.
While the younger son was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him. He was filled with compassion, and he ran to embrace and kiss his son.
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers,” the younger son said.
Instead, his father told his servants to bring a fine robe, sandals and a ring for his son.
“Take the fattened calf and slaughter it,” his father ordered. “Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.”
Spotlight on the Saints: St. Wenceslas
St. Wenceslas was born in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) around 907.
His father died in 921, and Wenceslas became duke of Bohemia the following year after his mother’s unsuccessful regency.
Despite his youth, he tried to establish the rule of law, improve education, extend Christianity and open Bohemia to the West. This put him at odds with his younger brother Boleslas as well as his nobles.
At a church dedication around 929, Boleslas started a fight with Wenceslas, who was killed.
Wenceslas was immediately venerated as a martyr, and we remember him on Sept. 28.
Puzzle
Using the hints provided, fill in the blanks in the sentences from Jesus’ parables.
1. Rejoice with me because I have found my lost _______. (Luke 15:6)
2. The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 _______ who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1)
3. A man fell victim to _______ as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. (Luke 10:30)
4. Send _______ to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames. (Luke 16:24)
Answers: 1. sheep; 2. virgins; 3. robbers; 4. Lazarus
