The Paradox of God's Grace

The parable of the wicked servant is a challenge to theologians. It's normally interpreted as a comment on the endless bounty of god's grace and how little he demands of us in comparison. But it also frames even spiritual affairs in commercial terms, with calculations of sin, penance and absolution. The very fact that we are reduced to playing such a game of tabulating sins reveals us to be fundamentally unworthy of forgiveness. There is something almost touchingly naive in the stories about neighbors swapping potatoes for an extra pair of shoes. When the ancients thought about money, hardly anybody came to mind this kind of thing. Some might have thought about their tabulations at the local alehouse or