Daily Catholic Lectio
Tue, 10 March ‘26
Third Week of Lent, Tuesday
Dan (Greek) 3:25, 34–43. Mt 18:21–35
Justice and Mercy
One of the deepest struggles in human life is the tension between justice and mercy. Justice asks for fairness, balance, and accountability. Mercy goes beyond calculation and opens the door to forgiveness. Today’s readings invite us to reflect on how these two meet in the heart of God—and how they must meet in our own lives.
The Gospel begins with a very practical question from Peter: “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister? As many as seven times?” In Jewish tradition, forgiving three times was already considered generous. Peter doubles that and adds one more, perhaps thinking he is being very magnanimous. But Jesus answers in a surprising way: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” In other words, forgiveness is not something that can be counted. It cannot be reduced to numbers or limits. Forgiveness is meant to become a way of life.
To explain this, Jesus tells the well-known parable of the unforgiving servant. A king decides to settle accounts with his servants. One servant owes him an enormous debt—ten thousand talents. To understand the magnitude, we must remember that a single talent was worth about twenty years of wages. Ten thousand talents is an unimaginable sum, a debt impossible to repay. According to justice, the servant deserves punishment. The king orders that he and his family be sold to repay the debt.
But the servant falls to his knees and begs for patience. At that moment something extraordinary happens. The king does not merely postpone the payment. He cancels the entire debt. This is not justice calculated in strict terms; this is mercy overflowing. The king gives the servant a new beginning.
Yet the story takes a dramatic turn. The same servant, who has just been forgiven an immense debt, encounters a fellow servant who owes him a very small amount—one hundred denarii, roughly a few months’ wages. Compared with ten thousand talents, it is almost nothing. But instead of showing mercy, he demands immediate payment. He seizes his fellow servant and throws him into prison.
Here the heart of the parable becomes clear. The problem is not simply about money; it is about the failure to allow mercy to transform the heart. The servant receives mercy but does not become merciful. He experiences forgiveness but does not learn to forgive.
When the king hears what has happened, he calls the servant back and says: “Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” The king’s judgment reveals the logic of the Kingdom of God: those who receive mercy are called to give mercy. Forgiveness is not meant to stop with us; it must pass through us to others.
The first reading echoes this same theme. In the prayer of Azariah from the Book of Daniel, the people recognize their failures and sins. They acknowledge that, according to strict justice, they deserve punishment. Yet they appeal to God’s compassion. They ask the Lord not to treat them according to their sins but according to his mercy. Their prayer expresses a profound truth about God: God’s justice does not exclude mercy; it is fulfilled in mercy.
When we place the two readings together, we see a beautiful contrast. Justice calculates; mercy gives freely. Justice asks what is owed; mercy asks what love can do. Justice often looks at the rule; mercy looks at the person. Justice may begin in the mind; mercy flows from the heart.
But the Gospel also teaches us that mercy has a responsibility. God’s mercy toward us must shape the way we treat others. We cannot ask God for forgiveness while refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters. Every time we pray the Our Father, we say: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Our forgiveness of others becomes the measure of the forgiveness we are ready to receive.
This is particularly important during Lent. Lent is not only a time to ask God for mercy; it is also a time to extend mercy to others. Sometimes the debts others owe us are not financial but emotional: a harsh word, a betrayal, a misunderstanding, a wound that still hurts. Justice may tell us to hold on to the account. Mercy invites us to release it.
Forgiveness does not mean that injustice is ignored. It means that we choose not to let resentment control our hearts. Forgiveness moves us from the strict logic of justice toward the liberating power of mercy.
In the end, mercy does not make us weak. On the contrary, it reveals a deeper strength. To forgive is to give something of ourselves. It may feel like losing power, but in reality it frees the heart.
Today the Word of God invites us to examine ourselves. Have we received God’s mercy without allowing it to transform us? Are there people whose “small debts” we continue to hold against them?
If God has forgiven us so much, how can we refuse forgiveness to others?
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
Leave a comment