20170321 NO MERCY WITHOUT MERCY
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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(25):4-6,7a-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.’
NO
MERCY WITHOUT MERCY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [
Daniel 3:25-43; Ps 24:4-9; Matthew 18:21-35]
We are all in need of mercy. This
is because we are all sinners. We are weak and often succumb to
temptations, or simply because we have a wounded nature. We get angry.
We are impatient. We are envious of those who are better than us because
we feel insecure. We cannot control our appetites because we
greedy. We steal and hoard because we are afraid that we do not have
enough. Because of our biological drive for sexual union and intimacy we cannot
resist the sin of lust. We are proud because we want independence, respect and
control over others.
Therefore, being a sinner is a
fact. Other than our Lord Jesus Christ and our Blessed Mother, no one is
exempted from falling into sin. To think that we are without sin is to
call God a liar. St John in no uncertain terms said, “If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 Jn 1:8) For this
reason, we must be ever ready to forgive each other simply because we are
fellow sinners. Hence, when Peter asked the Lord, “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.” In other
words, seven being the complete number, it means “always”, without exception.
Forgiveness is something we cannot
withhold from anyone. Firstly, God forgives us completely. “If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9) God is portrayed
as the master who forgave the servant who owed him ten thousand talents, which
is probably 7 billion US dollars in today’s terms. Of course this is an
exaggeration. But it underscores the point that God loves us and has
given us so much and have forgiven all our sins. He has paid the price
for our sins with the blood of His only Son. (cf 1 Jn 1:7) So what audacity
do we have to ask for God’s forgiveness for our many sins when we cannot
forgive the weaknesses of our fellowmen?
Secondly, forgiving others is the only
way to receive the full forgiveness given to us by God. Indeed, the Lord
warns us, “And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you
each forgive your brother from your heart.” By not forgiving, we
are in truth not forgiving ourselves. Many of us fail to realize that
healing can be complete only when we forgive those who have hurt us.
Being forgiven by God is not enough. We are to be reconciled with God and
with others. This explains why many go for confession asking for forgiveness
for their sins and yet do not find true and lasting healing because they have
not yet released their own grievances against those who hurt them. This
was basically the sin of the merciless servant. The master forgave him
for his enormous debt but he was not able to forgive the little debt his fellow
servant owed him. As a consequence, when the master heard of he said,
“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?”
How is it that we find it so difficult to
forgive? Firstly, it is because we are not fully aware of our own
imperfections and sinfulness. We tend to look at others who sinned
against us. Our eyes are always focused on others, judging them.
Again the Lord warns us, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be
judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Mt 7:2) St James
also warned us, “judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet
mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Jms 2:13) If “the master handed him
over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt”, it was because it was
necessary for him to learn about his own sins so that he could forgive the sins
of others. The servant needs time to reflect for himself his own sins and
God’s abundant mercy. Only then, could he truly forgive his fellow
servant.
Indeed, the season of Lent is a time for
us to reflect on our sins. If we find ourselves lacking forgiveness and
not able to let go of our hurts, we should begin reflecting on ourselves, our
own sins. We must keep the words of Jesus in mind. “Why do you see the
speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your
own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your
eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log
out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of
your brother’s eye.” (Mt 7:3-5)
Coming to consciousness of our many sins will help us to be more realistic in
judging others. We will come to realize that we are actually even a worse
sinner than them!
This was what the Israelites did in the
first reading. Azariah reflected on the outcome of the sins of Israel.
“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.” Through the consequences of their sins, they came to
realize their mistakes. Instead of excusing themselves, he prayed,
“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.”
We too must make time to think through
our own life. The real obstacle to healing is that not many of us spend
sufficient time to reflect on our mistakes in life. When we have a break
down in relationship, we only think of assigning blame to the other
party. We are always excusing ourselves but not others. We only see
things from our perspective and not from the other party. We need to put
ourselves in the shoes of others if we are to see everything more
objectively. Unless we learn from our lessons, we cannot grow in
self-awareness and be purified in love. We need to be contrite for true
healing to take place. With the Israelites, we pray, “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.”
We must also avoid applying double
standards with respect to our sins and the sins of others. Indeed, when
it comes to our wrongs, we are ever ready to excuse ourselves and ask for
leniency, like the unforgiving servant. But when it comes to the sins of
others, we would not make excuses for them. We demand justice and
punishment. We have no mercy for them. We are presumptuous and
self-righteous. Indeed, those of us who use double standards in dishing out
punishment to those who have done us wrong, but would forgive ourselves or our
loved ones, show that we are partial in our judgements. How many of us
would be like the legendary Justice Bao who would render judgement equally to
all, without regard for the rich or poor, the powerful or the ordinary man?
Even then, God is no Justice Bao!
He is not simply a just God but the God of mercy. His justice is His
mercy! We can pray with confidence llike Azariah who say, “Oh! Do not
abandon us forever, 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.” God, like the master, is ever ready to excuse us as
Jesus did on the cross when He prayed to His Father, “Forgive them for they
know not what they are doing!” (Lk 23:34) Truly, the
psalmist says, “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. He guides the humble in the right path; he teaches his way to the
poor.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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