As you listened to
the Gospel parable on forgiveness just now did anyone come to mind from your
life that you’ve had a hard time forgiving? Someone that hurt you, or offended
you, or acted unjustly towards you? Someone that you’ve forgiven several times
in the past, and the thought of forgiving them again causes you weariness? Having
someone pop into your mind like that, especially at Mass, might be a sign that
forgiveness is needed.
Forgiveness. The Lord teaches about forgiveness throughout
the Gospels, both plainly and also in parables. In the Lord’s prayer, he
teaches us to ask to be forgiven by God as we forgive those who trespass
against us. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches plainly, “forgive and you will
be forgiven”. In Mark, he says, “When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against
whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you
your transgressions.”
As he healed the Paralytic man, he said, “Which is easier,
to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’ But that you may
know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said
to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
And of course from the cross, he cried out, “Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do”.
In the Gospel today, we hear a parable of the importance of
forgiveness and also the consequences of failing to forgive. There was a king
who forgave a servant. But when it was that servant’s time to forgive his
fellow servant, he refused, and was therefore punished by the king for not
following his example of mercy.
We need to practice forgiveness from the heart, meaning not
just alleviating people from contractual obligations when they ask for it, but
refusing to return evil for evil when we’ve been wounded.
Whether, someone’s face popped into your head or not as you
heard this parable about forgiveness, I encourage you to examine your heart
toward all people, to ensure that you forgive all people. And if you find the
smallest speck of unforgiveness, pray to be delivered from it. Lord, grant me
the desire to forgive, and the strength to forgive. Loosen the bonds of
unforgiveness in my life.
For the Lord speaks about unforgiveness as a sort of prison
today. The one who fails to forgive is imprisoned. Unforgiveness is a form of
spiritual imprisonment, restricting us from living in the way that God desires
us to live. So, unforgiveness is to have no place in our lives. The refusal to
forgive can even keep us from heaven. There is not a single unforgiving soul in
heaven. Every soul in heaven is one who has let go of all unforgiveness. You
must let go of unforgiveness if you want to go to heaven. For “the measure with
which you measure will be measured out to you” as the Lord teaches.
Forgiveness can be challenging when we have not developed
the habit of forgiveness. Just as chastity is hard when we have not developed
that habit of it, or patience is hard when we have not developed that habit of
it.
When we encounter the Lord’s command to forgive, our ego’s
might present some resistance. There is a part of us that resists forgiveness
because we don’t want to be hurt again. Also, hatred is a powerful drug. It
makes you feel powerful where once you experienced powerlessness and
victimhood. There’s a thrill in plotting revenge.
Unforgiveness is also hard because the devil does not want
us practicing forgiveness, and so he does what he can to tempt us to hold on to
hatred. He might flood our imagination with examples of how that person hurt
you or might hurt you again in the future, and the pain they caused you. He’ll
whisper to you that you are weak and
shame you for turning away from vengeance. For he wants us to harbor
resentment, bitterness, and poisonous thoughts and emotions, ungodly, violent
and hateful impulses. Why?
Because when we forgive, we are imitating Jesus, who forgave
all sins from the cross, loosening us from the devil’s grasp. The Devil hates
forgiveness because he hates God. And “To forgive is divine” to quote the poet
Alexander Pope. The Catechism says it almost more poetically when it states
forgiveness “transfigures the disciple by configuring him to his Master.”
And so the enemy will cloud our intellect and weaken our
resolve. He’ll also likely attempt the familiar tactic of procrastination,
telling you, you can forgive tomorrow, or some time in the future. And then he
fills your tomorrows with enough distractions that you forget about what you
heard in Church and read in Scripture.
So, what DOES it mean to forgive? Forgiveness does not mean
pretending evil is not evil, or simply forgetting about past wrongs or allowing
someone to continue to abuse us. It doesn’t mean we abandon justice. We can
forgive someone from the heart while still supporting the societal need for
criminals to be punished. Rather, forgiveness means that I refuse to let hatred,
bitterness, and resentment to rule my life, to affect how I treat people. It
certainly means refusing to return evil for evil.
For the Christian is never to be motivated by evil, but by
love, for God, neighbor and enemy. When we forgive we are free to love as we
should, but not only that. When we forgive, Wounds from the past are healed. Hatred
is replaced with peace. And that peace is a foretaste of heaven. Jesus teaches to
forgive because God wants to make his dwelling in our souls.
Now sometimes anger takes such root in the soul that it
takes a lot of effort, multiple acts of forgiveness to overcome a deep wound. After an initial act of forgiveness, little
tinges of hatred remain. But as we practice forgiveness more and more, and we
ask the Lord to help us to forgive as he forgives, eventually the wound is
healed. The part of us that hates is transformed into an instrument of peace.
May the Holy Spirit help us to practice Christ-like
forgiveness, may he help us to remember this teaching when we are tempted to
forget it, that we may know the peace and joy of Christ in this life and in
heaven for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
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