Reading 1 Dn 3:25, 34-43
Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud:
"For your name's sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.
Do not take away your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your beloved,
Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,
To whom you promised to multiply their offspring
like the stars of heaven,
or the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our sins.
We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.
But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
R. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Gospel Mt 18:21-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, '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?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."
Reflection:
Who doesn't have debts they need to pay off! And
who wouldn't be grateful to have someone release them from their debts?
But can we really expect mercy and pardon when we owe someone a great deal?
When the people of Israel sinned and rebelled against God, God left them
to their own devices until they repented and cried out to him for mercy.
The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament recounts the story of Daniel and
his three young friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were sent
into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. When the King of Babylon threw Daniel's
three friends into the fiery furnace, they cried out to God to have mercy
not only on themselves, but to have mercy upon all his people. "Do not
put us to shame, but deal with us in your forbearance and in your abundant
mercy" (Daniel 3:19-43). The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God's "mercies
never come to an end - they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23).
God gives grace to the humble and he shows mercy to those who turn to him
for healing and pardon.
God's mercy towards each one of us shows us the way that God wants each
one of us to be merciful towards one another. When Peter posed the question
of forgiveness and showing mercy to one's neighbor, he characteristically
offered an answer he thought Jesus would be pleased with. Why not forgive
your neighbor seven times! How unthinkable for Jesus to counter with the
proposition that one must forgive seventy times that. Jesus made it clear
that there is no reckonable limit to mercy and pardon. And he drove the
lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The
first man owed an enormous sum of money – millions in our currency. In
Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province
– more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such
an incredible debt could not, however bring himself to forgive his neighbor
a very small debt which was about one- hundred-thousandth of his own debt.
The contrast could not have been greater!
Paul the Apostle tells us that "the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). There
is no way we could repay God the debt we owed him because of our sins and
offenses. Only his mercy and pardon could free us from such a debt. There
is no offense our neighbor can do to us that can compare with our debt
to God! If God has forgiven each of us our debt, which was very great,
we, too must forgive others the debt they owe us. Through Jesus' atoning
sacrifice for our sins on the cross, we have been forgiven a debt beyond
all reckoning. It cost God his very own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to
ransom us with the price of his blood. Jesus paid the price for us and
won for us pardon for our sins and freedom from slavery to our unruly desires
and sinful habits. God in his mercy offers us the grace and help of his
Holy Spirit so we can love as he loves, pardon as he pardons, and treat
others with the same mercy and kindness which he has shown to us. God has
made his peace with us. Have you made your peace with God? If you believe
and accept God's love and and pardon for you, than you likewise must choose
to be merciful towards those who are in debt to you. Are you ready to forgive
and to make peace with your neighbor as God has made peace with you?
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let
me sow love. Where there is injury let me sow pardon. Where there is doubt
let me sow faith. Where there is despair let me give hope. Where there
is darkness let me give light. Where there is sadness let me give joy."
(Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi)
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