7th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

February 18, 2001

by Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge

Almost everyone is familiar with the biblical story David and Goliath -- the young boy who slew the giant in personal combat. By doing so, David saved the people of Israel from a terrible war and thereby, endeared himself to the people, but he also incurred the hatred of King Saul, who viewed David as his enemy. King Saul convinced himself that David would try and take his throne. Consequently, he tried many times to kill David, but without success. In today’s first reading we see the tables turned. David is the one who has an opportunity to kill King Saul, but out of respect for him as the Lord’s anointed, he refuses to do so. David actually forgives King Saul for having tried to kill him.

That was then, but what about now; where do we find an example like that of David today? We can find an excellent model in the person of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. After he had recovered from being shot in St. Peter’s Square, one of the first things he did was to visit in prison the man who had shot him and offer him forgiveness and reconciliation.

Another example we can look at is that of the late Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago. A few years ago, a man falsely accused him of molesting him as a child. The man soon recanted his preposterous story and it would have been understandable if the Cardinal had taken a righteous stance of indignation against his dishonest accuser. Rather, however, the Cardinal sought out the man and forgave him.

Although these are two wonderful examples of forgiveness, we must look beyond them to the person of Jesus. Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness, and reconciliation as we heard in today’s gospel. His teaching is very much the opposite of what we hear and see in today’s society. We so often find it very hard to love, to forgive, and to trust those who have hurt us and let us down, most especially, those closest to us. Our society is very divided on the grounds of class, language, religion, gender and race. We may try and adopt the “holier-than-thou” attitude and to criticize, to moralize, to condemn, to point out faults in others with a self-righteous attitude. But this is not what our heavenly Father wants from us. This is not to be Christ-like. That sort of attitude only hampers our development and progress as human beings, who through our baptism are called to become saints.

In the gospel today, Jesus gives us the solution to our anger and wounds. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful,” he says. He asks us to love our enemies and to do good to those who harm and hate us. The key is “forgiveness,” to forgive those who wound us and hurt us no matter how severe the wounds.

Jesus, himself, also faced misunderstandings, rejection, betrayal, ingratitude and deceit from those whom he loved, served and healed. But Jesus revealed to us the depth of his forgiving love throughout his entire life and in particular when he hung, dying upon the cross, and looked down at those who had crucified him and prayed – “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He not only set the example of forgiving love for us, but also taught that we must forgive seventy times seven – meaning, we must forgive unendingly. We must forgive because our heavenly Father forgives. If we want to experience god’s mercy, we must get rid of revenge, bitterness and hatred.

Forgiveness is at the very core of Christianity. It is the most divine thing anyone can do. Forgiving frees us, who are victims of the wounds of hurt, to go on with our lives. Forgiving does not mean that the wound will disappear, but rather, it will allow us to be able to live with that wound. Forgiveness is not easy; we all know that. Jesus means for us to struggle through our feelings of righteous anger and resentment towards those who have hurt us, until we find the thread of mercy and forgiveness that breaks the cycle of hatred and anger, or resentment and revenge, that control us. We must be aware that the virtue of forgiving is often the result of a long process of recalling the hurtful incident and then finally, letting it go. Someone’s actions toward us may have been wrong and destructive to our relationship, but it should never, ever, make that person an unforgivable person, no matter what the wrong. We must always make the choice to forgive another despite our feelings to the contrary. That choice truly leads us to freedom.

“Our Father, who art in heaven…forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” O God, forgive me my sins against you, as I forgive those who sin against me – those who have wronged me, done me an injustice, who have injured me, maligned me, who have hurt me in any fashion. Yes, Father, forgive me, just as I forgive them. That is the prayer we pray so often. They are the words that Jesus, himself gave us. They are powerful words, indeed. The question is, if we believe what we pray, than do we truly want God to answer our prayer, and forgive us, according to how we have forgiven others?

We are all the recipients of divine forgiveness. No matter how far we may stray from God, He is always there to give us a way back to Him and is ready to forgive us. God touches us in our sinfulness, which is a part of our humanity, and is there to forgive us. God’s forgiveness is the love He has for us that reaches into the dark spaces of our failings and brokenness, and raises us up, and holds us gently in the palm of His hand until we are healed. The love of God and His willingness to forgive us should gradually leads us from our sinful ways to a life of grace and holiness.

Jesus calls us to be a forgiving people. He calls us to ask forgiveness from those we have wounded and to forgive those who have wounded us. This is our call as followers of Jesus Christ. “Pardon and you will be pardoned – Forgive and you will be forgiven.” Is there someone that you need to ask forgiveness from for some hurt that you inflicted? Is there someone you need to forgive for something they did to you? In either case, I strongly suggest that you do it today. In doing it, forgiveness will make you free.

“Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” Jesus says: “Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful,” and only then will you truly be sons and daughters of God for the love of one’s enemies is the defining characteristic of God’s family.