Transformed by God's Mercy: Repentance, Restoration, and Compassion

Feb 26, 2024 - Monday of the Second Week of Lent

Daniel 9:4b-10; Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13; Luke 6:36-38

The first reading includes Daniel's penitential prayer in response to the tragedy of the Babylonian Exile. Daniel confesses that it was a consequence of people's disobedience: "We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land" (Dan. 9:6). Therefore, Daniel proclaims: "Justice, O Lord, is on your side" (Dan. 9:7). But he doesn't end there. He highlights God's faithfulness to His covenant and His mercy and forgiveness (see Daniel 9:4, 9).

Daniel's prayer is echoed by the psalmist who beseeches the Lord not to deal with us according to our sins (see Ps 103:10; 79:8). Psalm 79 is a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem. The psalmist expresses pain and grief over the tragedy that befell the beloved city and its temple and appeals to God’s mercy. He prays: “Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake” (Ps 79:9). God’s reputation is at stake here. The cry of those who were carried to Babylon should come before the Lord and move Him to action (see Ps 79:11). And the Lord heard this prayer on behalf of his suffering people. Fifty years later, the Babylonian empire disappeared and the people were allowed to return and rebuild the city and the temple.

Our Gospel takes up the theme of God's mercy in Jesus' famous statement: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36). The Greek word ‘merciful’ occurs only three times in the New Testament and always in reference to God of the Bible. It appears twice in today’s passage of the Gospel, referring to God the Father, and once in the letter of James where the author reminds us about how God rewarded the perseverance of Job: "The Lord is full of compassion and mercy" (James 5:11). Knowing that God is merciful, that His mercy knows no limits, not only inspires hope and lifts our spirits, but also motivates us to be like our Father in heaven.

There is a clear progression in today's liturgy of the Word: from acknowledging sins (Daniel) and appealing for God's mercy (the Psalmist) to imitating God's mercy in life (the Gospel). Daniel teaches us to acknowledge our personal and communal sins. Like the people of Israel, we have also sinned and not listened to God's beloved Son, who spoke in the Father's name. Then, together with the Psalmist, we appeal for God's mercy and forgiveness. We pray that the Lord will not deal with us according to our sins but according to His boundless mercy. Finally, experiencing God's mercy in Jesus Christ, we model our lives on His mercy. Instead of judging and condemning, we begin to realize that when people do wrong things, they are under the power of sin and do not know what they are doing (see Luke 23:34).

Let us embrace the message of today's liturgy of the Word about the importance of acknowledging sins, seeking God's mercy, and embodying that mercy in our interactions with others.