Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

Azariah in the furnace: He had nothing to offer - no temple, no sacrifice, no priest. All he had was a contrite heart. And God received it. Connect to the Lenten practice of Confession: when you have nothing left to bring, bring your honesty. That's enough.

Peter's math: Seven was generous. Jesus made it infinite. The point isn't a number - it's a disposition. Forgiveness isn't an event you complete. It's a posture you maintain. For a community preparing for Easter, this is the hinge: can you receive the Eucharist while holding someone in debt?

The throat-grab: The servant seized his fellow servant by the throat. The violence of unforgiveness is real. Preach the physical weight of grudges - how they affect health, relationships, prayer. The servant's grip on his debtor was really a grip on his own prison bars.

"From your heart": Jesus' final line is the key: forgive your brother from your heart. Not just with your words. Not just publicly. From the heart. This is the Lenten examination: where is your forgiveness merely formal? Where does it need to go deeper?