Tuesday, March 10, 2015
3rd Week of Lent
1st Reading: Dn 3:25, 34–43
Gospel: Mt 18:21–35
Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.
“This story throws light on the kingdom of heaven. A king decided to settle the accounts of his servants. Among the first was one who owed him ten thousand gold ingots. As the man could not repay the debt, the king commanded that he be sold as a slave with his wife, children and all his goods in payment.
“The official threw himself at the feet of the king and said, ‘Give me time, and I will pay you back everything.’ The king took pity on him and not only set him free but even canceled his debt. This official then left the king’s presence and he met one of his companions who owed him a hundred pieces of silver. He grabbed him by the neck, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ His companion threw himself at his feet and asked him, ‘Give me time, and I will pay everything.’ The other did not agree, but sent him to prison…
“His companions saw what happened… and reported everything to their lord. Then the lord summoned his official and said, ‘Wicked servant, I forgave you all that you owed when you begged me to do so. Weren’t you bound to have pity on your companion as I had pity on you?’ The lord… handed his servant over to be punished, until he had paid his whole debt.” Jesus added, “So will my heavenly Father.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
A shorter version of today’s Gospel reading is: “If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times comes back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:4). In both Jesus used the “seven” and “seventy”. The meaning is found in Genesis where Yahweh said, “Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Later, Lamech, a great grandson of Cain also killed a young man out of vengeance. In his guilt Lamech lamented: “If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times” (Genesis 4:9-24). Humanly speaking, the sins of Cain deserved a hundredfold condemnation. Yet Yahweh spared him from human vengeance. God would like us to forgive all the time.
In forgiving we need not worry about justice; Jesus takes care of that. In cleansing the Temple (Jn 2:13-25) Jesus replaced animal sacrifice with his own, thereby assuming the responsibility of “paying” for past sins to satisfy the demands of justice. Now we can concentrate on the work of forgiveness. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.