Tuesday of the third week in lent

Date: Tuesday, March 5
Contributor: Mike Sirany
Lectionary Link https://www.lectionarypage.net/WeekdaysOfLent/TuesdayThirdWeek.html
 
Song of the Three Young Men 2-4, 11-20a (from the Apocrypha)
Matthew 18:21-35
Psalm 25: 3-10
 
All three of the above readings are reminders of how completely dependent we are on God’s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. The first, taken from the apocryphal reading added to the book of Daniel in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Scripture) is a prayer of thanksgiving and praise for God’s saving of three faithful Hebrew men from the burning furnace Nebuchadnezzar ordered them thrown into for not worshipping his golden statue. The Psalm speaks to God’s graciousness and mercy in forgiving the sins of those who remain steadfast in keeping HIS covenant, “All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness…” (9) and “remember me according to your love and for the sake of your goodness” (6). The third reading from Matthew is both a reminder of God’s generous forgiveness, and an injunction to show the same love and mercy to others that God shows to us.
 
When Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive someone who sins against us (“As many as seven times?”) Jesus effectively removes any limit to showing mercy by replying “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” He then tells the story of the king’s slave who cannot pay a huge debt, begs for forgiveness, and in the king’s compassion, is forgiven the debt. When that slave is later confronted by a fellow slave who owed him a much smaller debt, he refused to forgive his debt and had him thrown into prison. When the king heard about this, he was angry that the slave he showed great mercy towards could not do the same for another, so he cancelled the offer of debt forgiveness. Jesus concludes the story by saying “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
 
Reading Jesus’ conclusion can be a bit scary for me! God in HER generous mercy will forgive our sins, but if we do not act in the same compassion and mercy towards our fellow brothers and sisters, God will rescind the forgiveness of our sins until we have paid the price. This might suggests that God’s forgiveness of our sins rests on our generosity and compassion towards others. Who among us has not on occasion failed in that area???
 
What also comes to mind are other scripture readings that suggest that for those who are forgiven a great debt, the result is a great love; the implication being that God’s first loving us is what allows us to then love others. I have always taken Jesus’ words “to those who have been given much, much will be expected” seriously. I know I have many blessings that others throughout the world lack. With that comes an obligation that I cannot easily dismiss. One of my Lenten hopes is that the love, compassion, and mercy I have received so abundantly from God can be better reflected in the life I live. Rather than fearing God’s punishment for not living up to God’s standards, I humbly plead and ask for God’s help, to let me better reflect the love I receive from God into the world around me.