Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - 1st Week of Lent - Tues
[Isa 55:10-11 and Matt 6:7-15]Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us......If you forgive other people their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will you Father forgive your transgressions.
At the present time I am in a small village in South Louisiana in the sugar cane and rice growing Cajun country to preach a parish mission. Tuesday nights are usually dedicated to the subject of reconciliation and take the form of a Penitential Service. The gospel scripture that I read for the occasion is the one about the wicked servant who begs for debt forgiveness from his master, receives it, and then refuses to be merciful to a fellow servant who owes him a very small amount! Jesus tells this parable in response to Peter's question about how often he should forgive - seven times? Jesus replies, "No I say seventy-times..' [cf. Matt 18:21-35].
I begin my preaching by asking the congregation if any of them knows how often he or she has said the "Our Father" in their lifetime! I usually get an amused reaction because the number of times would be in the thousands for most of us! Then I ask if they ever stop to think about the meaning of the petition to be forgiven as we forgive? That creates a more somber reaction! Do we want God to take us seriously? I follow the preaching with an "examination of conscience" quite different from the ones that most of them are accustomed to. The focus is not on particular actions but on particular people and how we have failed to forgive or to ask forgiveness in their regard. The people include ourselves, our spouses, children, siblings, co-workers, clergy and religious, professional people like doctors, lawyers, etc. Each time we pray for the grace to forgive or be forgiven. The impact is considerable, as the subsequent confessions reveal!
Forgiveness is one of the most difficult tasks for a Christian to do. If we focus only on abstract categories of actions such as "I was judgmental. I was angry. etc." there is no "face" on those actions! If we focus on people, then we realize that our actions have hurt those people or their actions have hurt us and we must forgive or ask forgiveness! Sin always has a "face." The last act of forgiveness on the list I use is "that one person I swore I would never forgive!" If we can forgive that person this Lent, the forty days would be more than worthwhile! AMEN