6-Sept-2008
Dear Friend,
We often grumble that life is not fair and we tend to keep a record of wrongs
done to us by others. We even wait for the opportunity to get even and to hit
back at those who have hurt us. If we are powerless, we even ask God to do the
job for us! As believers we cannot live full and complete lives unless we
forgive and forget our hurts. If not they eat into our physical and mental
well-being. The more we are touched by God's forgiveness, the more ready will
we be to forgive. Have a grateful weekend recalling the innumerable times we
have been forgiven! -Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: 24th Sunday of the Year 'Called to forgive and forget!'
14-Sep-2008
Readings: Ecclesiasticus 27: 30- 28:7; Romans 14: 7-9; Matthew 18: 21-35;
Writing in the second century Ben Sirach was still struggling with the problem
that faced Israel for many centuries, namely the problem of divine retribution,
and its evidence in the world. Is God a punishing God? Why do innocents suffer?
How do we deal with those who hurt us? In today's first reading, Ben Sirach
deals with the issue in a practical way. If people harm us we have not to
retaliate but to forgive! In fact Ben Sirach suggests that our forgiving of one
another articulates our own prayer for divine forgiveness. It is man's refusal
to forgive which mounts up to mutual hatred and destruction.
High Wind At Noon
In his book High Wind at Noon, author Allen Knight Chalmers narrates the
following story about Peer Holm. At one time Holm was a renowned engineer who
had built great bridges, railroads and tunnels all over the world. But later
because of failure and sickness, Holm was hardly able to eke out a living for
his family. Holm had a neighbour with a very fierce dog, and he asked the man
to do something about the danger it posed. The neighbour got angry and abusive.
One day the very thing that Holm feared happened. The dog attacked his little
daughter and she died from the wounds. The sheriff shot the dog and all the
villagers became embittered against the owner. When sowing time came and all
the fields were ploughed they refused to sell him grain. Without seed the
farmer would go hungry and be reduced to poverty. However, Peer Holm could not
let this happen. So early one morning he took his last bushel of barley and
sowed his neighbour's field. Later, when the
crop grew, it was obvious what had happened. Part of Holm's own field was
bare, while his neighbour's field was green. That kind of forgiveness is not
easy!
Albert Cylwicki in 'His Word Resounds'
In the second reading Paul reminds his readers that the way we live our lives
has a repercussion on others as well. Our living and our dying depends on the
Lord. To live fully is to live in and for the Lord and die a proper death is to
die for the Lord. If we are living for him then hatred and anger have no place
in our lives. The more we believe in Jesus the more we let his spirit govern
and direct our lives. Thus the first requirement of living for the Lord
requires that we live in peace, harmony and love, never letting evil behaviour
influence us.
Jesus Forgive Them....
Graham Staines, an Australian missionary, along with his family, was working
among the social outcast lepers in the state of Orissa, India. On January 23,
1999, he along with his two little sons -Phillip and Timothy, were brutally
burnt alive in their jeep by a group of Hindu fundamentalists led by one Dara
Singh. The aftermath of this gory incident was nationally televised. What moved
us to tears when we watched the TV was the sight of Mrs. Staines asking Jesus
to forgive her husband's murderers. She prayed that Jesus might touch the
hearts of these men so that they might not do to others what they had done to
her husband and children. In the brutal murder of Graham Staines and his
children by Dara Singh and his gang, we see the triumph of barbarism, and in
the forgiveness of Mrs. Staines, we see the triumph of faith and goodness, we
see in her forgiveness we see the triumph of the human spirit touched by Christ.
John Rose in 'John's Sunday Homilies'
In today's gospel we see Peter the head of the apostles wanting to check out
with Jesus the teaching that he had given about forgiveness. He knew that Jesus
had asked his disciples to forgive others, but there should be a limit to
forgiving others, so he asks: "How often should I forgive my brother if he
wrongs me? As often as seven times?" Seven was the perfect number, seven times
over implied totality, completeness. Peter was not really being mean, in fact
he thought he was very generous in being ready to forgive seven times, he
implied: as often as God? The answer: "Seventy times seven!" There we have a
clear statement from Jesus. There is no end to the number of times we must
forgive our brothers - there can be no limit to our forgiveness, because there
is no limit to loving. The Gospel of Matthew underlines the significance of
this doctrine through the parable of the unforgiving steward. This doctrine
clearly touches everyone who belongs to the
kingdom of God. God has forgiven us our enormous debt, the equivalent in the
parable would mean several millions of our currency. The enormousness of the
amount only serves to illustrate the completeness of God's compassion and the
even more crass stupidity of ourselves who quibble over small hurts and
injuries we have received. Compassion moves us to pity instead of bitterness.
They say that to understand all is to forgive. The source of our forgiveness is
an appreciation of God's compassion towards us. Christian charity is more than
a natural, human response to a situation; it is a gift of God, the gift of his
spirit living in us. Without God's spirit and power we cannot forgive. When we
find it very hard to forgive somebody we must humbly acknowledge that we have
reached the limit of our own powers. Our only recourse then is to pray, to
invite God to take over our understanding and will. Only in and through his
spirit can we be empowered to forgive.
He Gives Us The Command And The Power To Forgive....
Corrie ten Boom lived in Amsterdam in the Netherlands during World War II. Her
family owned a watchmaker's shop. When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands, her
family began to help Jews, who were systematically being rounded up and sent to
the death camps. Eventually someone turned the family in, and they were sent to
the concentration camps. Corrie and her sister, Betsy, were sent to the
infamous Ravensbruck camp. Only Corrie survived the ordeal. After the war she
travelled about Europe lecturing on forgiveness and reconciliation. After one
talk in Munich, Germany, a man came forward to thank her for her talk. Corrie
could not believe her eyes. He was one of the Nazi guards who used to stand on
duty in the women's shower room at Ravensbruck. The man reached out to shake
Corrie's hand. Corrie froze unable to take his hand. The horror of the camp and
the death of her sister leaped back in her memory. She was filled with
resentment and revulsion. Corrie
couldn't believe her response. She had just given a moving talk on forgiveness
and now she couldn't forgive someone. She was emotionally blocked, unable to
shake the guard's hand. As Corrie stood there frozen, she began to pray
silently: "Jesus, I cannot forgive this person. Give me your forgiveness." At
that moment, she said, her hand, as if empowered by another source, took the
guard's hand in true forgiveness. At that moment she discovered a great truth.
It is not on our own forgiveness that healing in our world hinges, but on His.
When Jesus commands us to love our enemies, he gives along with his command the
grace we need to forgive them.
Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies'
"We have a clear statement in today's gospel: There is no end to how often we
must forgive our brothers. We will not solve the problem by counting how often,
how many times. To begin with there is God, who is king, who freely gave life,
freedom to everyone, gifts which cannot be measured, and over and above forgave
and took away our sins. For man, past master in the art of making a mess of
things, sinned -which amounts to the crime of high treason. This crime could
only be redeemed by paying sixty million pieces of silver. Only God can pay
this sum, and indeed he goes much further, he forgives because he is good and
patient. God is good but not simple-minded. We are not really able to harm God
but we can unfortunately, injure our neighbour and he can hurt us. God does not
want life thought of as a battle-ground, where everyone elbows neighbour about
and nobody makes friends, where blow is returned for blow, and injury leads to
injury. Because God is good
he wants us to forgive others what they owe us: after all a hundred pieces of
silver is such a trifle... Therefore let our hold on others be quickly consumed
by the fire of love. For if we refuse to forgive them from the depths of our
heart and continuously, we leave the court with our own suit dismissed.... only
to find ourselves immediately in the dock among the accused." - Glenstal Bible
Missal
Seeing Them In A New Light
In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, there is a moving scene. A battle
rages between the French and German soldiers. A young German soldier lies in a
shell hole, taking cover from artillery fine. Suddenly, a French soldier leaps
into the same home, seeking cover also. Before the Frenchman can do anything,
the German bayonets him several times. But the soldier does not die
immediately, he lingers on. The young German, hardly more than a boy, studies
the Frenchman's frightened eyes. He sees his mouth hanging half open, and his
lips dry and parched. The sight moves him to pity, and he gives his enemy a
drink of water from his own canteen. When the Frenchman finally dies, the young
German feels great remorse. This is the first man he has killed. He wonders
what his name is. Seeing the wallet in the dead man's pocket, he removes it
reverently. In it are a few family photographs, one of a woman and a little
girl. The German soldier is deeply touched.
He suddenly realizes that the dying man is not an enemy, but a father and a
husband - a human being who loves and is loved, just like himself. Moved to
pity, he takes a piece of paper and copies down the dead man's address. He will
write a letter to his wife. What happened in the shell hole? He suddenly saw
the man who was supposed to be his enemy in a whole new light. And it was this
change of vision that changed his attitude towards him. If we are to be able to
forgive our enemies, we must begin to see them in a new light, just as Jesus
sees them.
Mark Link in 'Sunday Homilies'
May we see our enemies as Jesus sees them!
Fr. Jude Botelho
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
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