Readings for Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Daniel 3:25, 34-43
The reading from Daniel is the Prayer of Azariah (Abednego) one of three companions to Daniel that were thrown into the furnace at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar because they would not worship the idol made of gold he had made.
Azariah’s prayer is for the whole people of Israel, who are in dyer straights. He prays (You may recognize some of the final verses as being included in Offertory Prayer in the Mass.) that God accept a humble and contrite heart in lieu of the traditional animal sacrifice required of their tradition at that time.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Psalm 25 is an individual lament. The sinful psalmist prays that “Your ways” be made know. This request directs us to repentance and ultimately justice.
Gospel Matthew 18:21-35
We begin this rather lengthy Gospel passage with the discourse on “Forgiveness”. Peter asks the question that paraphrases one asked in the book of Genesis by Lamech (Genesis 4:24.). He is looking for guidance in the form of a finite amount of forgiveness and in answer receives the command that forgiveness must infinite (represented by the multiples of seven and 10).
To emphasize this need for forgiveness, the Lord launches into the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. The moral of this particular parable is the measure we use to judge others is the same measure that will be used by God to measure us when we come before him. Here is how the Jerome Biblical Commentary sums up that parable:
“The model is the forgiveness of God, which knows no limit; and neither should man's forgiveness. If man does not forgive, he cannot expect forgiveness; if he does not renounce his own claims, which are small, he cannot ask God to dismiss the claims against him.”
Reflection:
Today the Lord charges us to look at forgiveness. We start by hearing Azariah (We recall that all three of the young men thrown into the furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had been renamed from Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) praying that God would be merciful and look at the true love for God and contrition in the hearts of his people. The psalmist prays that God’s way might be made known to him, and Jesus tells us that God’s way is infinite mercy and forgiveness.
We must therefore ask ourselves what we need to be forgiven for and who we need to forgive. It is part of the way of Lent that we should do our very best to find the answers to those questions for our own good. We cannot have the Lord’s peace without it.
Have you ever known a person who was hurt by another (physically or emotionally) that could not find forgiveness for that act or actions? If you have, did you see how that anger and resentment or even hatred ate that person’s soul from the inside? Did you notice how that emotion festered and colored every part of the person’s life; other relationships, activities, and even life pursuits.
It has been observed that revenge or retribution (the inverse of forgiveness) is the driver for most violent crime. It is, in its most widespread form the reason for racial and religious violence, including the sectarian violence we are seeing in the Middle East. That is not to say that forgiveness if not present in Islam – that is not the case. Rather a culture of vengeance has grown up in the region that is self perpetuating – vengeance spurs more vengeance, spiraling out of control. The same forces caused the feuds in Appalachia (the Hayfields and McCoys).
At a more personal level, those same emotions of hatred; a drive for vengeance, are self destructive. They change our very core from one in harmony with God to one at odds with him. The person who cannot find forgiveness is one who can never find peace. That is why it is so important for us to follow Christ’s command and forgive as we are forgiven.
We recall as we walk this way of Lent that our Lord did not just command us to forgive but, in his own ultimate sacrifice, forgave those who, in their ignorance, committed the gravest sin ever known. We hear his voice today as he uttered: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Today we look inside and find any place where we still cling to anger, the desire for retribution, or hatred and we cast it away, offering that act of forgiveness to God and asking that, when we come before him, he will show us that same measure of mercy.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is “The Crucified Christ” by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1810-11
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Daniel 3:25, 34-43
The reading from Daniel is the Prayer of Azariah (Abednego) one of three companions to Daniel that were thrown into the furnace at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar because they would not worship the idol made of gold he had made.
Azariah’s prayer is for the whole people of Israel, who are in dyer straights. He prays (You may recognize some of the final verses as being included in Offertory Prayer in the Mass.) that God accept a humble and contrite heart in lieu of the traditional animal sacrifice required of their tradition at that time.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Psalm 25 is an individual lament. The sinful psalmist prays that “Your ways” be made know. This request directs us to repentance and ultimately justice.
Gospel Matthew 18:21-35
We begin this rather lengthy Gospel passage with the discourse on “Forgiveness”. Peter asks the question that paraphrases one asked in the book of Genesis by Lamech (Genesis 4:24.). He is looking for guidance in the form of a finite amount of forgiveness and in answer receives the command that forgiveness must infinite (represented by the multiples of seven and 10).
To emphasize this need for forgiveness, the Lord launches into the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. The moral of this particular parable is the measure we use to judge others is the same measure that will be used by God to measure us when we come before him. Here is how the Jerome Biblical Commentary sums up that parable:
“The model is the forgiveness of God, which knows no limit; and neither should man's forgiveness. If man does not forgive, he cannot expect forgiveness; if he does not renounce his own claims, which are small, he cannot ask God to dismiss the claims against him.”
Reflection:
Today the Lord charges us to look at forgiveness. We start by hearing Azariah (We recall that all three of the young men thrown into the furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had been renamed from Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) praying that God would be merciful and look at the true love for God and contrition in the hearts of his people. The psalmist prays that God’s way might be made known to him, and Jesus tells us that God’s way is infinite mercy and forgiveness.
We must therefore ask ourselves what we need to be forgiven for and who we need to forgive. It is part of the way of Lent that we should do our very best to find the answers to those questions for our own good. We cannot have the Lord’s peace without it.
Have you ever known a person who was hurt by another (physically or emotionally) that could not find forgiveness for that act or actions? If you have, did you see how that anger and resentment or even hatred ate that person’s soul from the inside? Did you notice how that emotion festered and colored every part of the person’s life; other relationships, activities, and even life pursuits.
It has been observed that revenge or retribution (the inverse of forgiveness) is the driver for most violent crime. It is, in its most widespread form the reason for racial and religious violence, including the sectarian violence we are seeing in the Middle East. That is not to say that forgiveness if not present in Islam – that is not the case. Rather a culture of vengeance has grown up in the region that is self perpetuating – vengeance spurs more vengeance, spiraling out of control. The same forces caused the feuds in Appalachia (the Hayfields and McCoys).
At a more personal level, those same emotions of hatred; a drive for vengeance, are self destructive. They change our very core from one in harmony with God to one at odds with him. The person who cannot find forgiveness is one who can never find peace. That is why it is so important for us to follow Christ’s command and forgive as we are forgiven.
We recall as we walk this way of Lent that our Lord did not just command us to forgive but, in his own ultimate sacrifice, forgave those who, in their ignorance, committed the gravest sin ever known. We hear his voice today as he uttered: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Today we look inside and find any place where we still cling to anger, the desire for retribution, or hatred and we cast it away, offering that act of forgiveness to God and asking that, when we come before him, he will show us that same measure of mercy.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is “The Crucified Christ” by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, 1810-11
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