GIVE. FORGIVE.

September 11, 2011

Sunday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in the Ordinary Time
Ecclesiasticus 27:30-28:7; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-35


I wrote on the door of my heart: "please do not enter." Love came smiling and said: "sorry, I am illiterate"

It is said: God has a Son. His name is LOVE. Love has a wife. Her name is FORGIVENESS.
From the union of Love and forgiveness come all the virtues in the world.
The devil has a son. His name is Hatred. He has a wife. Her name is Anger.
From the union of hatred and anger emerge all the evil in the world.
Love and Forgiveness are soul-mates. Wherever there is love, there is forgiveness.
Wherever forgiveness goes love follows her.
Love without forgiveness and forgiveness without love are incomplete.
Anger and hatred are soul-mates, too.
Wherever there is hatred, there is anger. Hatred follows anger wherever she goes.

Whose child are you: of God, or of the devil?
What is in your heart: Love and forgiveness, or hatred and anger?

Jesus declares us to be true children of God: born in love, redeemed in forgiveness and sanctified in grace! We are sons and daughters in the SON!

The central message of the scripture passage for our reflection today is FORGIVENESS. We are commanded to forgive…forgive... and forgive. Never count how many times; and never ask how long. The commandment to forgive is an extension of the commandment to love. If love is the mark of a true disciple of Christ, forgiveness is the way to grace.

Jesus offers us two reasons why we should be forgiving unconditionally and unlimited: 1. We are forgiven by God, and 2. We ourselves need forgiveness.

I am forgiven:
God’s eternal love is revealed in forgiveness. He has forgiven me first. He keeps forgiving me. His patience endures forever. This has been the experience of people throughout human history that have a God who forgives us unconditionally and unlimited. The psalmist verbalized it: “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion” (Ps 103). Indeed, if I survive today, it is because of the mercy of God. I was born in sin, I inherited a sinful world, and I wallow in sinful ways each day of my life. I owe God for all that I have and all that I am. I can never ever re-pay him enough in this life or in a thousand lives. Each day I break my covenant with Him and bring disgrace to His name. Yet, God keeps patiently waiting for me, loving me more each time I sin, and justifying me with His grace. If only I turn my steps towards Him or raise my eyes to His heart, He grants me forgiveness: no questions asked; no penalties imposed.

It is this ineffable forgiving love of God that impels me to be forgiving. This is why Jesus speaks of forgiveness in the same breath as He speaks of love. Forgiveness is the true expression of love.

Forgiveness is a conditional grace. The very word for-giving implies the centrality of “giving”. We receive forgiveness in as much as we give it. Jesus never got tired of talking about the “conditional grace of forgiveness”. He inserted it in the beatitudes, in the Lord ’s Prayer, in the parables and instructions, and demonstrated it in His prayer on the Cross. It is forgiveness that makes the Cross worth embracing.

I need forgiveness:
Forgiveness, like love, is necessary for a healthy, happy and long life. More than a burden, forgiveness is the path of grace. Do you want long life? Forgive! Do you want peace and joy? Forgive! Do you want healthy, fulfilling relationships? Forgive!

Unforgiveness is a poison that will kill you. Hatred and anger in your heart will see you through a miserable life and a gradual painful death. I may not be able to kill my enemies with my unforgiveness. Yet, I will kill myself if I refuse to forgive. The one who suffers more because of my refusal to forgive is not my enemy, but myself. The more I harbor anger and vengeance in my heart and the longer I live with those feelings the more my life gets rotten.

Anger, bitterness, hatred and unforgiveness are more toxic than all the most dangerous elements in the world. You need to clean regularly the sanctuary of your heart from the “emotional trash” and the “toxic feelings”. If you keep trash in your house, and pile them up each day, what happens? They begin to rot, stink, and spread deadly germs. You become sick. Jesus offers to clean the trash from your heart. He offers His services for free. Consider turning your steps toward the confessional. You will feel clean, healthy and good.

Consider each time you forgive as the first time. Never say enough. We never forgive enough. For, you never say enough in love. Nobody gets offended in forgiveness. If your brother or sister loses his/her temple, hold yours in tact. Do not make yourself a victim of your enemy. When you refuse to forgive, you make yourself his/her slave. Forgiveness restores true freedom. Is it not funny that we give the control of our life to our enemies when we fail to forgive them. You cannot step out of your house and walk freely for the fear that you might stumble upon your enemy! Forgive, and you will know what freedom and peace is!

The rule of love is also the rule of forgiveness. “Love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength.” Forgive your offender with all your heart, with all your will and with all your strength. Many a time forgiveness fail, because I have not been able to apply “all my heart, all my mind and all my strength” in forgiving.

Thought Capsule: "Don't be afraid to forgive. It is a sign of strength. Forgiveness may not make the other person right, it makes you free. "

BLESSED SINNER

September 16, 2010
Thursday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 7:36-50

Categories of Sin

Sin is generally categorized as mortal and venial. We have been taught from our childhood that we need to confess our sins and seek forgiveness, especially those that are mortal. Mortal sins, we know are grave sins. Those who commit mortal sins, we brand them as “sinners” needing repentance. The mortal sinners are easy to be identified. Most of them might be publicly accused, tried and punished in the civic court. This is why those committing mortal sins have been identified as public sinners.

Our general attitude towards venial sins is one of complacency. We say, we all commit mistakes (although, there are many who would even claim that they are perfect, without sin, the world around them is sinful, though), but it is due to the human weaknesses. So it is ok, understandable, tolerable, acceptable for us to do ‘the little sins’. Our logic is, any way we always live in grace and so we are absolved always.

But Jesus does not make such a distinction of sin as mortal and venial. For him, what we consider as venial could become mortal, and what we consider mortal can be venial. This is why He re-interpreted the Ten Commandments, “you have heard in the past, murder, and anyone who murders will be liable to judgment. But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be brought to trial, anyone who calls his brother ‘you good for nothing’ and raqa (‘you fool’) will stand before the senhedrin”(Mt 5:21-24), and again, “you have heard that it was said, ‘do not commit adultery’, but I tell you, anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5: 27-28). Indeed, for Jesus a sin is always a sin. The gravity of the sin is not in the nature of sin, in the external manifestations and attributes we perceive, but in the ‘perception of God in His infinite wisdom. Because of this Jesus warns us time and again: “do not judge others” and “leave judgment to God”.

Categories of Sinners

Even as Jesus does not categorize sins, He does categorize the sinners. For Jesus the sinners are of two kinds: self-righteous sinners and repentant sinners. Human nature is characterized by sin and grace. Where sin raises its head, Grace abounds. The very purpose of the coming of Jesus was to deliver us from the powers of sin. In God’s eyes, everyone is a sinner needing His forgiving grace and ineffable mercy. Yet, not everyone would open their hearts to the grace and forgiveness of God. Only those who would see themselves as great sinners wallowing in the clutches of evil, helplessly crying out for the redeeming grace of God can receive the forgiveness and strengthening grace that flows from the heart of Jesus. The Pharisees in the Gospel considered themselves righteous, leading good, holy and pious lives, deserving the grace of God. They felt themselves so good that the presence of the sinners made them uncomfortable. They even questioned the “morality” and integrity of Jesus who moved with and made friends with the sinners, and now enjoyed the ‘touch, kiss and love’ of a sinful woman, a “prostitute” at that. The Pharisee was shocked that the “sinful woman” dared to enter the presence of the “holy people”. But, Jesus knows the heart of the “sinful woman” and the “self-righteous man”, and reveals His heart that loves more a hardcore sinner who repents than a “self-righteous sinner” who never feels the need of repentance.

Blessed Sinner:

Sinners are not only welcome to Jesus; they are rewarded with more love. It is a difficult proposition of Jesus to understand that those who are forgiven more are loved more, and those who are loved more are forgiven more. So, more love is revealed in more forgiveness. Forgiveness is shown in more love. The woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears of remorse went home with a heart full of love. And Jesus made her a model worth emulating for all the ages. The Pharisee, who was self-righteous, a publicly acclaimed good religious, went down in history, a person who needed more repentance, more forgiving grace and mercy. To tell someone that I love him/her is to ask her for forgiveness and to say with all sincerity that I forgive.

How do I measure my love? Do I forgive more and seek forgiveness more even as I claim to love more?

Do I feel complacent in my sinfulness that “I commit only venial sins”? How often do I make a good confession?