Matthew 18:21-35

Daniel 3:25, 34-43

Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Matthew 18:21-35

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you offer me your merciful love each day. You are my Father and welcome me back with open arms when I sin and go astray. Look with mercy upon me, send your Spirit into my heart, and strengthen my love for you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Azariah’s Petition for Mercy: Azariah and his two companions were exiles from Judah in Babylon during the Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C. They refused to worship the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar and, because of this, they were condemned to die in a fiery furnace. Amid the flames, Azariah offered up the prayer we heard in the First Reading. Azariah praises God for his fidelity, kindness, and great mercy. He acknowledges that God is faithful to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knows that God is and remains merciful even though the people of Israel and Judah were unfaithful. Azariah recalls that Judah had no king to lead them, no prophet to communicate God’s word to them, and no temple to offer sacrifices, burn incense, and offer prayers of thanksgiving. The only thing the people could do in exile was offer their contrite and humble hearts to God and beg for his mercy. The offerings of animal sacrifices in the Temple were replaced by the offering of repentant hearts in exile. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a humbled spirit: “a contrite spirit, a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.” Azariah is in exile and, like the end of Psalm 51, looks forward to the day when God will rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and when sacrifices will once again be offered on God’s altar (Psalm 51:20-21).

2. God is Merciful: God is merciful toward his people and wants us to imitate his mercy. God desires mercy – covenant faithfulness – and not animal sacrifices (Hosea 6:6: Matthew 9:13). The humble are merciful because they know how much they have received from God. They are docile and able to be guided along paths of justice and the ways of God. They are able to turn away from sin and return to God, who is gracious and merciful, with their whole hearts. When I look at my heart, is it prideful, hardened, and stubborn? Or is it broken, contrite, and humbled?

3. Jesus’ Parable about Mercy: Jesus uses a story to compare God’s generous mercy and forgiveness to our stingy and hardened hearts. God the Father is likened to a king who forgave the debt of ten thousand talents. Some estimate that one talent was worth 17 years of wages and was equal about to 6,000 denarii – a denarius was what a laborer would earn for one day of work. In the parable, the king forgave the servant’s debt of 10,000 talents – over 170,000 years’ wages – but that same servant was incapable of forgiving a much smaller debt of 100 denarii (100 days’ wages). When we apply the parable to our relationship with God, the debt we have incurred due to sin is seemingly insurmountable. We cannot repay God fully for the gift of our life, the gift of divine mercy, or the gift of divine life. God has no need of our material possessions or animal sacrifices. He doesn’t need us and yet he generously offers us a share in his divine life. A humbled heart, ready to receive God’s mercy, is a step that leads us to overcome the separation we cause through sin and to enter into communion with God. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me to imitate the Father and be merciful today. I will forgive all those who have offended me in any way. Help me to see and experience how merciful you and the Father are, so that I may be a vessel of mercy in the world today.

Living the Word of God: In relation to our brothers and sisters, our debt is not infinite, yet we are still capable of great offenses. When we have offended someone, we are called to leave our gift at the altar and seek reconciliation. When we have been offended, we are called to imitate God's mercy and forgive without counting the cost. Is there anyone I need to ask forgiveness from? Is there anyone in need of my forgiveness?