Tuesday March 22, 2022

Tuesday of 3rd Week in Lent

Forgive Us As We Forgive

 

We don’t like too much – or not at all – to acknowledge it, but we have been forgiven a lot. Open, scandalous, upsetting sins… maybe not. Probably not. But scandalous in the sense of totally unexpected on the part of people who profess to be the sign of the Church, of Christ, of God… perhaps yes: antipathies, non-sharing, animosities, enmities nurtured for years, living side-by-side without genuine love and sharing, maybe yes… and to many or at least some the opposite of witnessing to what we profess to be, yes… Where is our forgiving others as God has forgiven us, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer?

 

First Reading: Daniel 3:25; 34-43

 “But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!”

“Don’t ever, we beg you, abandon us – you have promised us otherwise, so please don’t water down your covenant.

“Don’t pry your mercy from our grasp; Abraham, your beloved friend, wouldn’t want that, nor would his son Isaac or his grandson Israel.

“ You promised that their seed would multiply like the stars in the sky, like th grains of sand on the beach.

“So why, O Lord, are we now the least favoured nation? Why are we ranked lowest of the low? It has to be because of our sins.

“How can we find favour with you if we don’t have a prince or a prophet or a leader? We have no altar on which to offer you sacrifices, offerings, incense, the first fruits of our fields.

“In spite of all this, look upon our contrite heart and humble spirit, as though we ourselves were rams and bulls or fatted lambs being offered to you. Let our bodies be our sacrifice in your sight today, so that we can follow you perfectly –perfectly in the sense that those who put their faith in you are never wrong.

“We follow you with our whole heart; fearing you still, we want to look upon your face.

“Don’t let us die in shame. Treat us the way always have; massage us with your usual gentility; smother us with your inexhaustible mercy.

“Wrap us in your wondrous ways; restore glory to your name, O Lord.

 

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35 

At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.

 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’

 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.”

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
we consider ourselves your chosen flock,
the people who profess to be your sign of reconciliation.
God, how poor we are! How often we fail you
by forgiving by an act of condescension,
as if we did a great favor
to those who sought to be reconciled with us.
Lord, help us to forgive
the way and to the extent that you forgive us:
unconditionally and totally,
in the goodness of our hearts.
Give us this greatness of heart
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

 

Reflection:

We are debtors of God’s love and mercy

When someone offends us, our spontaneous reaction is not forgiveness but resentment or anger especially when the damage has left deep wounds. Certain hurt feelings do not disappear over time; and some of those wounds even last a lifetime. In such instances, the natural reaction would be to pay back, to avenge the pain that has been caused. This primitive instinct is what in history caused duels and endless struggles between tribes and nations. Forgiveness does not come spontaneous.

In the Lord’s prayer, we ask the Father to “forgive our debt”. The sins that we have committed do not represent all of our debts. Sins relate to the past and they are not infinite. They are only a small sign of the immense distance that separates us from the love of the Father. Our prayer, “Forgive us our debts” is not just about past mistakes, but it’s directed especially to the future. We grow in debt to a person when we receive something from him and he expects us to return it to him in due time.

God has bestowed on us His mercy and compassion and he expects us to return it! What God grants us in abundance is his love and compassion. He wants us to return it or share it with our brother or sister without hesitation. He wants that we do not keep the brother or sister a slave of his or her past. It is the desire of our brethren / that we do not take their breath away while they desperately try to rise up from the chasm. God asks us to help them seventy times seven, without excuses. The children of the Kingdom of God are “merciful as the heavenly Father” (Lk 6:36). If we are willing to accept this new logic, we will be willing to lose, to forget all our rights just to see our brother happy again, peaceful and freed.

The last scene in today’s gospel gives us shudders (vv. 31-35). The conclusion is puzzling: “So will my heavenly Father do with you, unless you sincerely forgive your brothers and sisters.”
Does it mean that the Lord would repay therefore in the same coin those who are ruthless with their “debtors?” Such an interpretation would contradict the whole message of the parable that wishes to present a God who always forgives human transgressions. It would be a blasphemous interpretation to consider it as a description of the behaviour of the Father who is infinite love and mercy.
The evangelist is not describing what God would do in the end, but the parable presents what God wants a person to do today.

 

Video available on Youtube: We are debtors of God’s love and mercy