Praying for Deliverance

Mar. 5: Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

In the first reading, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are being tested by fire, literally. And they still praise God, asking for deliverance only to prove God’s power. If you’ve read the Book of Daniel, you know they will be delivered, but this passage ends on a cliffhanger.

In the parable Jesus tells, the Unforgiving Servant, the story begins with deliverance. The King forgives the servant’s debts. And what does he do with that? He goes and chokes out someone who owes him far less!

Asking forgiveness is great. But what are we going to do with it afterwards?

Reading 1

Dn 3:25, 34-43

Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed aloud:

"For your name's sake, O Lord, do not deliver us up forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, To whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea. For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins. We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you. But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received; As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, So let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. 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."

While trying to figure out why this passage refers to Abednego as “Azariah,” the name given to him by Nebuchadnezzar’s chamberlain,¹ I discovered this entire prayer is considered deuterocanonical. In protestant bibles, this chapter is only 30 verses, as opposed to our 100.

For context, Abednego is saying this prayer while he, Shadrach, and Meshach are in the fiery furnace. So when he says, “let us be received, as though it were burnt offerings,” he really means it.

He’s asking God for a miracle, but not (entirely) selfishly. He wants people to come to God after hearing about their miraculous rescue from the fires. He believes, but he wants others to, too.

Responsorial Psalm

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

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

This is a fantastic prayer to ask God for guidance. Just as Jesus came to dine with tax collectors and prostitutes, God shows sinners the way. Who’s that? Every one of us.

Verse Before the Gospel

Jl 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful.

God is willing to take us back at any time. We should do that same, as Jesus explains in the Gospel.

Gospel

Mt 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.

'“Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'

“Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.' Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.

“Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! 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."

Forgive your brother “seventy seven times” isn’t really meant to be a limit. It was a colloquial way of saying “basically infinity”. Seven, in Hebrew numerology, was the number of completeness. So 77 is super-duper complete, to the point that no human could actually reach it.

The meaning behind the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is pretty obvious. God will forgive our sins, which are numerous, but he’ll hold them against us if we don’t forgive others.

God loves all of us infinitely, and has infinite compassion, so every sin is a sin against God, as well as against an individual. No matter how much someone has sinned against us (“a much smaller amount”), we’ve all sinned against God so much more (“a huge amount”). If God is willing to forgive all that, and He is, what possible complaint can we have against anyone else?

1. I couldn’t find the answer, sadly.