Once again, the Sunday Scriptures speak of forgiveness.
Many of us believe the act of forgiving someone is one of
the toughest things we must do. If we have experienced
mercy and forgiveness ourselves, why is it so difficult to
extend mercy and forgiveness to others? If I entered the
confessional a miserable sinner but left the same confessional
forgiven and glowing in grace and reveling in
Christ’s mercy, why can’t I let go of the anger and hurt and
just forgive? Here’s the answer: we don’t know Jesus well
enough. If we took the time to contemplate his unconditional
love for the worst of sinners and his ardent desire
to go after the one lost sheep, we would trust him to walk
with us into that uncomfortable place of letting go of our
pride and surrendering to his will. If we were to forfeit
pride, ego, and misdirected righteousness and allow God
to cool our fiery emotions, we will love like Jesus loves.
And loving like Jesus means it will be easier to love the
ones that are difficult to love and forgive the ones who
have hurt us. This means sacrifice – dying to self and
living for others.
From the crucified Jesus, we know mercy and love poured
out for you and me. Our task of forgiving one another
is nothing compared to that afternoon on Calvary. When
we extend love to a sinner, that love is transforming and
moves a hardened heart to gratitude. Maybe we need to be
reminded of the gratitude we felt when we were forgiven.
Maybe we need to be reminded of what Saint Paul says to
us in the second reading: “we should not live for ourselves;
we should imitate God.” Maybe we should imagine God
overwhelmed with joy at our gestures of mercy and tenderness
toward those who are difficult to love. Thanks be
to God for the gifts of forgiveness and mercy!
Have a blessed week!
