HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT, LITURGICAL CALENDAR YEAR B
HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT, LITURGICAL CALENDAR YEAR B
THEME: To be forgiven, you must forgive.
BY: Fr Deotacious Chikontwe SMA
READINGS OF THE DAY
Daniel 3:25,34-43
Psalm 24:4-6,7-9
Matthew 18:21-35
LITURGICAL COLOUR
PURPLE/VIOLET
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent, Liturgical Calendar Year B.
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FROM OUR FIRST READING
In our first reading today, we heard the prayer of Azariah, one of the three friends of Daniel mentioned in the Book of Daniel. At that time, the context was that Azariah together with the other two friends of Daniel, Hananiah and Mishael were persecuted by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had built a large golden statue in his own image, and ordered everyone to worship the golden statue, essentially making himself as a god. The three men refused to bow down and worship to that golden statue, remaining steadfast in their belief and faith in God, and hence, risking the anger and the persecution from the king. The king threw all of them into a great burning furnace and made it much hotter as he was angry when Azariah and his friends proclaimed that there is no one that should be worshipped except for the Lord, their God. The flames would not harm them, and no matter what, they remained in perfectly safe condition, protected by the Angel that God had sent to them, witnessed by the same king Nebuchadnezzar and all who witnessed the event. God truly showed His love and mercy, His compassion and kindness to His faithful ones, remembering that each and every one of them are truly precious and beloved to Him, and hence He safeguarded and protected Azariah and his peers, showing everyone not just the wonders of His love, but also the mercy and forgiveness that He has shown them.
FROM OUR GOSPEL READING
When Peter asked Jesus the question, ‘How many times must I forgive my brother or sister if he wrongs me?’ and then suggests an answer to his own question, ‘as often as seven times?’ Peter’s answer would have sounded very reasonable to most people. Seven was considered the perfect number; to forgive seven times was perfect forgiveness. However, Jesus goes further that Peter’s suggested answer, ‘seventy seven times’. In other words, forgiveness must be limitless. The parable he goes on to speak explains why this must be so. The first servant owed the king ten thousand talents, which was an astronomical sum at the time. In cancelling the debt the king shows extraordinary generosity; mercy certainly triumphs over justice.
CONCLUSION
The parable is reminding us that God’s readiness to forgive is limitless. There is nothing calculating about God’s mercy. It goes beyond what is normally found in the world of human experience. All that is required to release such mercy is to ask for it. When the first servant was approached by a fellow servant who owed him a very small sum, this first servant who had been so greatly graced acted without mercy towards his fellow servant. The parable is suggesting that when people are in debt to us, it is nothing compared to how much we are in debt to God, and if God is endless in his mercy towards us, we must be limitless in our mercy towards others. Such a willingness and ability to forgive those who have wronged us won’t always come easy to us. It will often be a lifetime’s work. It is our growing awareness of how great God’s mercy is towards us that will free us to show mercy to others eventually.
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