20160301 HUMAN FORGIVENESS IS FOUNDED ON DIVINE FORGIVENESS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Daniel
3:25,34-43 ©
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Azariah stood in the
heart of the fire, and he began to pray:
Oh! Do not abandon us
for ever,
for the sake of your
name;
do not repudiate your
covenant,
do not withdraw your
favour from us,
for the sake of
Abraham, your friend,
of Isaac your
servant,
and of Israel your
holy one,
to whom you promised
descendants as countless as the stars of heaven
and as the grains of
sand on the seashore.
Lord, now we are the
least of all the nations,
now we are despised
throughout the world, today, because of our sins.
We have at this time
no leader, no prophet, no prince,
no holocaust, no
sacrifice, no oblation, no incense,
no place where we can
offer you the first-fruits
and win your favour.
But may the contrite
soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you
as holocausts of rams
and bullocks,
as thousands of
fattened lambs:
such let our
sacrifice be to you today,
and may it be your
will that we follow you wholeheartedly,
since those who put
their trust in you will not be disappointed.
And now we put our
whole heart into following you,
into fearing you and
seeking your face once more.
Do not disappoint us;
treat us gently, as
you yourself are gentle
and very merciful.
Grant us deliverance
worthy of your wonderful deeds,
let your name win
glory, Lord.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 24:4-6,7-9
©
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Remember your
mercy, Lord.
Lord, make me know
your ways.
Lord,
teach me your paths.
Make me walk in your
truth, and teach me:
for you
are God my saviour.
Remember your
mercy, Lord.
In you I hope all day
long
because
of your goodness, O Lord.
Remember your mercy,
Lord,
and the
love you have shown from of old.
Do not remember the
sins of my youth.
In your
love remember me.
Remember your
mercy, Lord.
The Lord is good and
upright.
He shows
the path to those who stray,
He guides the humble
in the right path,
He
teaches his way to the poor.
Remember your
mercy, Lord.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Blessed are those
who,
with a noble and
generous heart,
take the word of God
to themselves
and yield a harvest
through their perseverance.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Or
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Joel2:12-13
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Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
Now, now – it is
the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with
all your heart,
for I am all
tenderness and compassion.
Glory and praise to
you, O Christ!
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Gospel
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Matthew 18:21-35
©
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Peter went up to
Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As
often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but
seventy-seven times.
‘And
so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his
accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man
who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master
gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all
his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at
his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And
the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the
debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who
owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to
throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his
feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other
would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should
pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had
happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him.
Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all
that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have
pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the
master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And
that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your
brother from your heart.’
HUMAN
FORGIVENESS IS FOUNDED ON DIVINE FORGIVENESS
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: Daniel 3:25-43;
Ps 25:4-9;
Matthew 18:21-35
One
of the most difficult things in life is to forgive those who have hurt us
deeply, through
betrayal, insult, slander or when they cheat us or are unjust to us. The
memories of these hurtful moments will continue to haunt us. Even if we
want to forgive, we cannot because that psychological pain will unsettle
us. So we cannot forget nor can we forgive. Perhaps, some of us
could try to forgive once or twice. But there is a limit to our
forgiveness and tolerance. Even the prophet Amos said that God would
forgive only three times and then the fourth time, He would punish us.
(cf Amos 1)
Even the rabbinic interpretation on forgiveness is that we only need to extend
mercy three times. Hence, we can imagine how Peter felt about himself
when he posed Jesus the question on forgiveness and even suggested that we
should forgive seven times, which is twice over and above the forgiveness of
God, plus one. He must have thought it was very magnanimous of him
to think that way. But the reply of Jesus was too shocking. He
said, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.” In other words,
all the time! There is no limit in offering forgiveness.
But
how can we keep on forgiving those who are apparently incorrigible? How can we allow them to hurt us again
and again? Surely, we need to put a stop to such acts of injustice!
But if we do, that is, not forgiving those who hurt us, then we become
prisoners of our anger, resentment and vindictiveness. This is what Jesus
warned us at the end of the parable, “And in his anger the master handed him
over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my
heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from
your heart.” By not forgiving, we will only torture ourselves
further. We will only get more hurt when we embellish and nurture our
pains. Anger will lead us to revenge and even killing.
So
how can we find the strength to let go of the hurts in our lives, much less, as
Jesus instructed us, to forgive from our hearts? The point of today’s
scripture readings is that human forgiveness is dependent on divine forgiveness
and founded on God’s mercy for us. On our own strength, we cannot forgive. That
explains why divine forgiveness precedes human forgiveness. The servant
was expected to forgive his fellow servant for the inconsequential sum of money
he owed to him only because he was forgiven a debt that was colossal and beyond
the means of anyone to pay back. God expects us to forgive only
because He has forgiven us first. This is the basis and the power
for forgiveness. He will not ask us to do what He Himself does not do.
Thus,
the scripture readings today illustrate to us the infinite mercy and
forgiveness of God.
Again and again, Israel was not faithful to the Lord but He would extend His
forgiveness. God listened to the prayer of the three young men in the
furnace when they prayed for divine protection. In the responsorial psalm
too, like Azariah, he reminded the Lord of His mercy for Israel. “Remember your
mercy, Lord, and the love you have shown from of old. Do not remember the sins
of my youth because of your goodness, O Lord. The Lord is good and upright. He
shows the path to those who stray.” In the gospel, the master forgave the
enormous debt of his servant without conditions when he pleaded for
mercy. God is mercy. He forgives us whenever we sin. He
does not hold any faults against us. But there are two conditions to
receive His divine forgiveness. These conditions are not set by God as
pre-requisites to receive His forgiveness; rather, they are set by us. In
other words, God always forgive without conditions. He does not stop
forgiving us. The obstacle is not on the side of God but on the side of
the recipient of divine forgiveness. Forgiveness given presupposes that
one is capable of receiving. God surely forgives, but are we docile and
disposed to receive His forgiveness? What, then, are these obstacles?
Firstly
to receive divine forgiveness, we must have a contrite heart. This is what the first reading
is underscoring. The prayer of Azariah was heard simply because he prayed
with humility and with a contrite heart. He said, “May the
contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams
and bullocks, as thousands of fattened lambs: such let our sacrifice be to you
today, and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly, since those
who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.”
What
is a contrite heart? It is more than just sorrow for our sins. It is more than
just an emotional sentiment of regret. A contrite heart is one who comes
to full realization that his sins are hurting others, especially his loved ones
and himself. When a person arrives at this understanding, then he will
take action and make a resolution not to continue hurting others.
Instead, he will now walk the way of truth and love. This is what Azariah
promised the Lord. He said, “And now we put our whole heart into
following you, into fearing you and seeking your face once more. Do not
disappoint us; treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle and very merciful.
Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds, let your name win glory,
Lord.” In contrast, the servant who was released from his debt was not converted
in his heart. He remained unmoved by the master’s forgiveness and
continued to harbor revenge in his heart against his fellow servant.
There was no change in the way he lived his life, especially in his attitude
towards his fellowmen. Rather, like the psalmist, if we seek God’s
forgiveness, we must all pray from our heart, “Lord, make me know your ways.
Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: for you
are God my saviour.”
Secondly
to receive divine forgiveness, we must forgive those who have hurt us. Why? Otherwise the forgiveness
we receive from God is incomplete. It is true that God has forgiven us
for our sins. But when we refuse to render the same forgiveness we
receive to others, the cycle of the healing process of the person is
short-circuited. Whilst he might have received divine forgiveness,
he has not received human forgiveness. He remains incomplete and
unsettled. His real problem is with his fellowmen who have hurt
him. So without forgiving, regardless of how much God has forgiven him,
he cannot find peace and true joy. So the command to forgive all the time
and to forgive from our heart is for our total liberation and healing.
Thirdly,
to receive divine forgiveness, we must contemplate on our sins and the mercy of
God. If we
cannot forgive, it is because we are self-righteous. We think that we are
quite perfect and holy. We do not see ourselves as sinners or that we
have done anything wrong. We are presumptuous and ignorant of our sins
and the gravity of them. Until we become conscious of not just our sins
but how our sins are hurting people because of what we say and do, then we will
be moved to contrition and repentance. We are often oblivious or
insensitive to the consequences of our words and actions on others.
Now if God has forgiven us our sins, grievous as they might be, then we can do
likewise. How could we have the audacity to ask God for forgiveness when
we have sinned against His divine majesty when we cannot forgive our fellowmen
who have sinned against us mere mortals? Let not the Lord say to us, “You
wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me.
Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had
pity on you?”
So
during this season of Lent, we must pray for the gift of reconciliation, the
grace of forgiveness of those who have hurt us so that we can find peace in our
hearts. We must
ask for the grace of humility to recognize our own sins and the part we play in
that sin even if others have sinned against us. We can best do this by
making time to contemplate on the passion and death of Christ on the
cross. By reflecting on His passion and His mercy and love for us and His
enemies, we will find the strength to do what He did. If Christ could
forgive His enemies as a man and even pray for them at the cross, we could do
it as well with His love and His Holy Spirit. So we are invited to
pray for them, bless them and forgive them.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
