THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Tuesday of the third week of Lent

Dan 3:2,11-20

Ps 25

Matt 18:21-38

As many as seven times…

Dear friends in Christ, there are times when looking at what others do, we feel we are already doing too much. When we judge by the standards of the world, we may have surpassed many other people. When we discuss with our friends, it is possible deep within us, we begin to feel like we have reached some level of perfection, even if we do not say so, because we have gone way beyond their level: in prayers, spiritual matters and sometimes in our level of charitable living. It is only when we bring it to the level of the divine, that we begin to notice that it may not be as wonderful as we had thought.

Our first reading today is taken from the book of the Prophet Daniel (3:2.11-20) Azariah amid the fire, turned his thoughts to the Lord and prayed fervently for forgiveness for his nation. He asked God to remember the covenant he had made to their ancestors and to see now, that they have become fewer than many nations. He acknowledged their calamity as a result of sins, but prayed, “With a contrite heart and a humble spirit may we be accepted…” As Christians, we have learned like Azariah to ask God for forgiveness for our sins. Even those who do not approach the sacrament of reconciliation, pray for forgiveness. The question however is, for us who sin and ask for forgiveness, do we also forgive others?

Our Gospel reading of today is from Matthew 18:21-38. In a culture where on the third count, you are free to retaliate; and according to the law of Moses, in the same measure— “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Is it not a great act of kindness, to close one's eyes until the seventh count? Peter must have been very proud of himself, to put this question to Jesus. He had just listened to Jesus who in chapter 17, taught about temptations to sin; told the parable of the lost sheep, and then taught about how to reconcile with your brother, by doing everything possible to win him, even if he refuses to listen. The question Peter is, how many times must I go through this process before I lose my cool and retaliate? “As many as seven times?” Jesus answered him, “I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven.” In simple terms, you need to open a register, or diary of wrongs, to be able to count and remember how many times. There must be no limit to your endurance— of your brother or sister or neighbor. Your ability to forgive is a requirement for your forgiveness before God. This is very important in the family. The longer you live with someone, the more of his faults you get to see, and the more irritated you get at those faults, particularly if it becomes repetitive—when it occurs again and again. Jesus however says, look at it in the parable of the man who owed his master ten thousand talents and was forgiven, with this same servant unable to forgive a fellow servant who owed him just a hundred denarii. The master’s judgment is a reversal of the forgiveness earlier given. May God not treat us according to our faults. Forgive, seventy—times—seven!

Let us pray: O God, I am a sinner, have mercy on me and give me the grace to forgive those who have wronged me. Amen. 

+Remain blessed