3RD TUESDAY HOMILY IN LENT — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: “So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
BY: Bishop Anthony Ewherido
Today’s liturgy features the Prophet Daniel’s supplication for a broken nation, under the weight of devastation, following the exile. Daniel prayed for deliverance, asking God’s forgiveness for Israel’s sins; offering a humbled contrite heart. Whether to God or humans, the best way to forgiveness is a sincere and heartfelt sorrow for our sinfulness, for the Lord spurns not a humbled contrite heart, as we see in the gospel, where a servant received undeserved mercy and the forgiveness of an unpayable debt. Our indebtedness to God is unrepayable.
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Mercy and forgiveness are offered to us as free gifts from God’s compassion and mercy. Just so must we freely offer forgiveness to others; refusal to forgive others makes us undeserving for God’s unconditional forgiveness. We learn today that we are called by God to forgive as God forgives us; just as we pray in the Lord’s prayer; also, that there is no limit to the number of times we must forgive. Forgiveness should be both unconditional and unlimited in number. This Lent, let us bring our broken world and nation to God in prayer, like Daniel; asking God for forgiveness and restoration. There should be no pretense about it. We all feel the pinch of the brokenness of our nation and our world. Let us go on our knees before God and ask for forgiveness for the misuse of the resources that God has given us by our sins of pride, arrogance, greed, corruption, failed governance, oppression and subjugation, nepotism, discrimination, insurrection, war, and violence. That is where the solutions lie; sincere repentance followed by a firm resolve and determination to forego our evil ways and work with God to restore us to true life. We must also ask God to heal our unforgiving hearts, so we may easily forgive those who hurt us.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
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