Forgiveness

Something jumped out at me at Mass yesterday.  When we read Scripture, so often we take a passage and look at it close up without really seeing it in context of what else is happening.  One great example of this comes from the gospel for Monday of the 32nd week.  The disciples plea to the Lord, "Lord, increase our faith."

We tend to use that line as our own appeal in prayer, as we should, when things are not going well in our lives. But look more deeply at what is happening in that gospel.  If we zoom out just a little we see something very interesting.  "Be on your guard!  If your brother sins, rebuke him; if he repents, forgive him.  And if he wrongs you 7 times in one day and returns to you 7 times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him."  Then the disciples said, Lord, increase our faith."

In that context you can almost see the humor or at least the exasperation in the voice of the disciples as if the prospect of forgiving someone 7 times in one day is just too much to expect.  We have a hard enough time forgiving someone once, much less 7 times.  How do we muster up the courage to consistently forgive those who are seeking reconciliation with us?  Alone, it is impossible.  Which is why the disciples ask for faith.  But the Lord's response is simple.  It only takes a small amount of faith to move mountains, but we have to be open to that gift that Christ gives to us.  He and only he is the one who can help us to forgive.

When we have been hurt, we are challenged to look upon the cross at Christ as he forgives his persecutors.  He needs, with his divine grace, to forgive those who have hurt us in far lesser ways.  Holding on to pain and hurt only make us feel worst, and those things keep us from moving ahead in our spiritual lives as well.

When you feel yourself lost and frustrated because of the hurt caused to you, it's helpful to know that Christ knows our pain too.  He also knows what it is like to be rejected and betrayed.  In those moments in our lives, he loves us even more.