How beautiful is the Prayer of Azariah today, from the book of Daniel. Azariah’s prayer is filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. It has been thousands of years since he prayed these words, but they still resonate in the heart. We can identify with his humility and the knowledge of his sins and the sins of his people. Azariah knows what would give glory, honor and praise to God, but he does not have the means to do so. But, he wishes he had rams and bullocks and thousands of fat lambs to offer to God as a sacrifice. He asks the Lord the accept to the sacrifice of his own life and his companions instead, because this was all he had to give. Azariah offered his prayer out of the depths of his human shame of being put to death in this way.
These verses in scripture do not mention why Azariah stood up in the fire and prayed, but it was because the king had Azariah and his companions thrown into a furnace because they would not worship any other God, but their own. God heard Azariah’s prayer and sent an angel into the midst of the flames to protect them from being harmed in any way.
Azariah’s humble prayer found favor with God and their lives were spared. They later sang hymns glorifying God, while walking amidst the burning flames, because they would rather die than worship anyone else. Azariah and his companions steadfast faith caused the conversion of the king and all of his people.
However, that was not the case in the gospel today. On the contrary, the king who decided to settle the accounts with his servants was very compassionate and lenient and forgave one of his servants a very large debt. When this servant was released though, he refused to forgive a small debt from one of his fellow servants and had him thrown in prison because he couldn’t pay it.
There is a natural law written in the hearts of all men though, and the servants who witnessed this event knew it was wrong so they told his master. This is significant, because a lot of people in our modern times see something that is wrong and never say anything about it. They think it is better to keep quiet and not cause any negative feelings, rather than speak up when they see someone do something wrong. This has even been the case in large cities, where the neighbors witnessed a murder and never called the police. Other people know that a child is being abused too, but they never report it. The servants in this story followed their conscience though, and did the right thing.
Jesus said the master got mad when he heard about it, and handed the servant over to be tortured until he paid back the whole debt. Jesus said this is what will happen to us too, if we do not forgive other people from our heart. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t speak up when someone does something to hurt us though. The offense needs to be addressed, but then we need to let it go. That’s easier said than done.
The basis of the Catholic belief in purgatory though is found in today’s scripture verse: “Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.” (Mt 18:34).
We can eat our hearts out over the hurt that other people cause us sometimes, but if we do not work it out and forgive that person in this life, it will continue to torture us in the fires of purgatory in the next. The way Jesus taught us is a much better way, to forgive each offense without exception when they happen. It is the only path to peace. This is the peace that Azaraih and his companions had when they walked through the burning flames, singing hymns and praising God in today’s old testament reading. Maybe the fires of purgatory will not be as painful one day, if we listen to what Jesus is trying to teach us about forgiveness today.
