Misertus | Have Mercy

"Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'" — Mat 18:32-33 

Photo by Designecologist from Pexel

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, in this scripture passage from the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus is asking us to reflect upon the mercy of God. We all make mistakes and we commit sins and for sure we ask mercy and forgiveness from God. The merciful God who is listening to our pleading always forgives our sins and grants us mercy, even though most often we are not worthy of it. A person who has experienced the mercy of God, will for sure be grateful and thankful to God for the great tender love of God.

In our day today, we come across many people and some love us, care for us, help us, pray for us and so on. Also we come across people who hurt us, offend us, make us angry etc. Sometimes God allows us to go through all the negative experiences to test our faithfulness towards him. He wants us to know whether we are able to carry forward the love and care that we experience from him. It is in such struggles, temptations, difficulties we come to know how faithful we are to God. Do we lose our peace of mind or become agitated and frustrated quickly or are we able to be at peace and have control over the situation?

Jesus is not looking at mere external peace and smiling faces but rather he looks into our hearts. Jesus knows everything that goes on in us. Are we able to forgive the people who hurt us from our heart? Jesus is not asking us to do something ordinary but something extraordinary. We can give only what we have. Let us carry forward the love and mercy we experience from God in all circumstances.

 

 

Reflection on Matthew 18: 15-35 by Fr. George Joseph SVD

(Listen to the Podcast here)