The somber days of Lent provide us with an opportunity to do
some serious soul-searching: examination of our conscience, reflection on our
vices and virtues and habits and attitudes, with the hopes of identifying any
obstacles in our hearts which keep us from imitating Our Lord and growing in
holiness.
I always encourage folks to give up television, movies,
video games, and excessive use of the internet during Lent, these things which
often occupy a lot more of our time than we think. And once they’re gone, we have a little bit
more time to think about our lives, our relationships. We strip away some of those external
distractions, and when we do that, our interior lives can begin to grow.
I think many people are resistant to give up these external
distractions, because their interior lives are not all that pleasant. Many of us can carry around some serious
interior burdens in the form of resentment and bitterness over past hurts—old
wounds which have gone unhealed for many years.
So Lent provides an opportunity to bring those wounds to the
healer—to Jesus, the medicus vitae—the
doctor of life.
In the Gospel today, Jesus teaches the most important remedy
for the healing of our wounded souls and wounded relationships:
forgiveness. Through Jesus’ passion and
death, God has forgiven us—our wounded relationship with God is healed. And we are called to practice that same
forgiveness towards others. Just as
there is not a single sin God will not forgive, so too there isn’t a single sin
that we are not called to forgive.
Jesus says to forgive not just seven times, but seven times
seven.
In the Hebrew tradition the number seven is a sacred number
and refers to the limitless holiness of God.
When Jesus commands his disciples to forgive “seventy times seven”
times, it is to say that his disciples are to have no limit in their own
forgiveness.
It is difficult to forgive those who betray us—who offend,
who harm us with their words and actions.
To forgive them sometimes feels like we are giving them a free
pass. Forgiving once, is sometimes hard
enough, when we are hurt, there is that part of us that says, “I don’t want to
talk to them, I don’t want to see them, I don’t want to be near them, I don’t
even want to think about them.” A
Christian must never say, “I will never forgive you.”
For Christ came to heal the wounds of sin and division—our
division from God, and the division we continue to create between
ourselves.
So we need to be constantly about the work of
forgiveness. If upon self-examination
you detect any anger or any hurt, now is the time to let it go. And if the Holy Spirit is urging you to seek
the forgiveness of a family member or neighbor you may have offended, go, do
your best to be reconciled, to make peace, for the glory of God and salvation
of souls.
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