Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent 2023
“And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord."
-Daniel 3:41-43
Forgiveness and reconciliation are two of the great themes of Lent. There is a danger, however, that our cries of for mercy can become so focused on the reality of sin and brokenness in our own lives that we lose sight of the fact that we are also called to forgive others who might have offended us or even sinned against us.
The liturgy for this Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent is reminding us that extending forgiveness to others is also part of the work of Lent.
In the First Reading, we hear the impassioned prayer of Azariah. This passage is taken from a Greek addition to the Book of Daniel and expresses confidence in the God who created and sustains the universe, as well as Azariah’s own cry for deliverance as he and his companions face almost certain death in King Nebuchadnezzar’s white-hot furnace. The tone of the prayer is reflected in the petitions of the Responsorial Psalm: “Remember your mercies, O Lord.”
“The last sentence of Azariah's entreaty, as it is proposed by the liturgy, has a strong emotional impact and deep spiritual intensity: ‘now with all our heart we follow you, we fear you and seek your face’ (v. 41). In these words lingers an echo of another Psalm: ‘My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek'" (Ps 27:8).—Pope Saint John Paul II
Image: Illumination of the “Fiery Furnace” by Armenian artist Toros Roslin (1266)
The Gospel proclaimed today is from a section of the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 18) dedicated to “church order.” Matthew’s insights come from the experiences of a real community made up of very real women and men who came into conflict with one another. And so, Peter’s question isn’t an abstraction or academic exercise. Instead, Peter stands in for each of us, asking Jesus at what point we can stop doing the hard work of forgiving someone.
It’s easy to imagine that Peter thought he was being more than generous by proposing “seven times” as the high number for times to forgive. Jesus, however, has other ideas. He tells Peterthat seven times isn’t enough. Instead, we are to forgive as many as seventy-seven times.
What is at stake in this Gospel passage is the integrity of the community. When we have been hurt or offended by someone, we don’t have the luxury of simply writing them off. Whether we think of the life of the Church or our own social circles, we have to believe that God, in God’s Providence, has placed each person we know in our life for a purpose. Perhaps they are with us to help us navigate our own life’s journey, or we might be called upon to support them. Some people are in our lives to help us laugh at ourselves, while others have the gift of helping us to recognize the ways that God’s grace is at work for us.
My years of living in religious communities have also helped me recognize that God sometimes places difficult people in our lives to help us remember that we aren’t the center of creation. We have rough edges just like everyone else and its only by allowing our rough edges rub up against the rough edges of others that we can be worn smooth.
The Prophet Azariah models for us a prayer for mercy and deliverance. The Gospel reminds us of the necessity of extending to others that same mercy for which we pray.
As we continue to reflect on the Lenten good works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we would do well to remember these words from Saint Augustine of Hippo: “There are many kinds of alms, the giving of which helps us to obtain pardon for our sins; but there is none greater that that by which we forgive from our heart a sin that someone has committed against us” (from Enchiridion: On Faith, Hope and Love, ch. 19).
May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray,
but make us dedicated to your holy service
and at all times obtain for us your help.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
