“Bring Glory to Your Name” by Melanie Rigney
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| Wicked Servant Image by Jan Sanders van Hemessen [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
(Daniel’s companion Azariah prayed aloud:) “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)
Remember your mercies, O Lord. (Psalm 25:6)
“(The wicked servant’s master said:) ‘I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?' Then in anger, his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:32-35)
Piety
Faultless Lord, enduring death for me, You have consummated the debt of my sins: Your sacrifice of forgiveness was absolute! Grant me the strength to also forgive others, to excuse their transgressions against me. So I may truly reflect this spiritual fruit, obliterate any persistent feelings of malice. Let each trespass end as a closing chapter, my continuing on the road of righteousness. Forgive my sins as I aspire to forgive others. You are truly archetypical of forgiveness. You are a most forgiving Lord! (Prayer for Strength to Forgive, Catholic Online)
Study
Payback, a good friend once publicly observed, is hell.
We avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. We atone for our sins, large and small, public and private. We make reparations. We know the Lord forgives us, even when we find it difficult to forgive ourselves. We pray for the faith that once an offense is cleansed, the debt is paid, the spirit clean again.
And then, WHAM! Someone who was affected by that very action for which we’ve been forgiven roars in with a vengeance. Maybe God’s forgiven us for our addiction, our workplace anger, our verbal abuse to a family member or friend, but the other person hasn’t. The payback can make us feel like we’re in hell. That payback can separate us from family members and friends. It can leave us very, very angry… and very, very lonely.
Regardless of how we might feel in the moment, however, payback is not hell unless we make it so. It can be uncomfortable, nasty, painful, and many other things, but payback inflicted upon us does not have to separate us from the Lord, which is what true hell is… and if we land there after our earthly lives, there’s no way back.
So what to do when payback hits us? Exactly what Jesus tells us in today’s reading from Matthew: Forgive, even when it seems like the unforgivable. After all, doesn’t the Lord do that for each of us every day?
Action
Pray to be delivered today from inflicting payback on others… and for the souls of those who inflict it upon you.
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