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| “Christ on the Cross” by Jacques-Louis David, 1782 |
Reading I: Daniel
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
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.”
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Commentary on Dn 3:25, 34-43
The reading from Daniel is the
Prayer of Azariah (Abednego), one of Daniel's three companions, who were
thrown into the furnace at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar because they
would not worship the idol made of gold, which the king had made.
Azariah’s prayer is for the whole people of Israel
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
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.
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Commentary on Ps 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9
Psalm 25 is an individual lament. The sinful psalmist prays that “Your ways” be made known. This request directs us to
repentance and ultimately justice. In the first strophe of this hymn, we hear
support for our belief that God answered the prayers of our ancient ancestors.
Their trust was justified. The song continues as an individual prayer asking for
guidance and salvation.
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Gospel: Matthew
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.”
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Commentary on Mt 18:21-35
This passage begins 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 be infinite (represented by the
multiples of seven and ten).
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. “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.”[4]
CCC: Mt 18:21-22 982, 2227, 2845;
Mt 18:23-35 2843
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Reflection:
We
recently reflected about the differences between the good and moral person and
the Christian. Scripture today causes us to focus on another tenet of our faith
– forgiveness. A question for you: can a good and moral person be considered so
if they do not forgive a person who has wronged them? We propose that in the
terms of society, the answer is “yes.” Going even further, a good and moral
person would not be faulted for using the legal system to seek retribution from
one who had wronged them using all the means at their disposal, attempting to
gain monetarily from the situation.
If
we call ourselves Christian, as a people who follow the teaching and example of
Christ, we are called to go beyond even simple forgiveness. By simple
forgiveness we mean: communicating forgiveness to one who has wronged us, but
holding anger in our hearts for the injustice for which, at some future time,
we might exact revenge. Christ says the same thing: simple forgiveness is not
enough, calling us to forgiveness from the heart. It is a difficult thing, and
we must differentiate forgiveness of a person and acceptance of a deed.
Just
as a parent chastises a child for doing something wrong, but loves the child
who did it, we are called to, as the saying goes, “hate the sin, but love the
sinner.” Sometimes this can be very difficult because we associate the sinner
with the sin. For example we might find it very difficult to love Adam Gadahn. Gadahn,
31, an American of Jewish descent was born Adam Pearlman in California. He has
been called the "American face of Jihad," after producing numerous
videos allegedly for Al Qaeda. He was deemed a traitor by the U.S. and in Oct.
2006 he was indicted for treason and giving aid and comfort to terrorists after
the testimony of an FBI agent. Such a person we might feel was inherently
dangerous to us, one so twisted by hate that forgiveness would not be an
option. Yet, we are asked to love Adam and mourn his fall from grace as his
parents would, but certainly his native faith community would not. Forgiveness
is the commandment of Christ whose ultimate forgiveness we celebrate daily. It
is that uniquely Christian call, at the heart of our actions, which labels us a
“Christian”.
Today
we are asked to be a people of forgiveness. We are called to go beyond legal
justice, to Christ’s justice which included forgiveness even for his own
crucifixion. By setting this standard in our lives, we are assured that the
same mercy and forgiveness will be shown to us as we stand before the Great
Judge on the last day.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “Christ on the Cross” by Jacques-Louis David, 1782
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]Jerome
Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 43; 127
