"I FORGIVE, BUT I JUST CAN'T FORGET"
That attitude --
forgiving but not forgetting -- is in reality far from what Jesus had in mind
for us; and of course that is not truly Christian forgiveness at all…
Do we pray for
God's mercy for others and for ourselves? And do we forgive those who do
wrongful things to us? Daniel was ashamed before God because of the history of
an unfaithful people in his community. For the sins and failings of his own, he
pleaded with God for compassion and pardon.
In today's
Scripture, Jesus teaches one of His favorite lessons, the lesson of love. And
one aspect of love that He insisted upon was that of forgiveness. Perhaps Jesus
persevered in His teaching about forgiveness because He realized how difficult
a virtue it is for us. How often have we heard someone say, "I forgive,
but I just can't forget?" I know I have said that before. That attitude --
forgiving but not forgetting -- is in reality far from what Jesus had in mind
for us; and of course that is not truly Christian forgiveness at all. I believe
we do this to protect ourselves from being hurt again by the same person:
"I just don't want to get burned again." Sound familiar?
Jesus wants us to
practice His kind of forgiveness. Remember what Peter did to Jesus Christ at
the time of His passion? Not once, not twice, but three times he denied that he
even knew our Lord. Before that denial Jesus had promised Peter that he would
be the head of the Church, our first pope. And despite Peter's denials Jesus
kept His promise. Jesus didn't say, "Well Peter, I forgive you, but I just
can't forget your disloyalty, so someone else will have to take your
place." Well, we do know the rest of the story!
Our responsorial
psalm asks for that change of heart to come quickly: "For we have been
brought very low" (Ps 79:8). The Gospel of Luke seems to come as an answer
for us. All we have to do is to treat others as we would like to be treated.
"Stop judging, and you will not be judged. Stop condemning, and you will
not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Lk 6:37).
Remember Lent is a
time for considering how we forgive those who offend us!