Today’s gospel (Mt 6:7-15) presents us with the charge to forgive others their transgressions. It is said that forgiveness is divine because it is seemingly not in the nature of human beings to let go of hurts done to them by others.
The normal human instinct would be to retaliate – to take our own “pound of flesh”. But what of when we are the offenders? What of our own mistakes, failures, and weaknesses? The fact that we are not without mistakes makes forgiveness indeed a human act.
The Bible presents this dynamism of failure and forgiveness from Jesus’ expression: “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (Mt,6,14-15). In this reflection then, I will focus on the human and divine characters of forgiveness.
Dealing with Human Failures
Forgiveness is indeed so connected with our human nature; failures and weaknesses are part of being human. Thus, forgiveness is connected with the enormous responsibility to patiently endure our own limitations and those of others. Mistakes and failures warrant the feelings of pain, betrayal, disappointment, hurt, brokenness, etc. Sometimes, the failure is very intricate, at other times, minute.
No matter the immensity of our hurts, not letting go of them has negative influences on our life. We are all aware of the fact that unforgiveness could have a negative impact on ones’ health or state of mind. There is a saying in my mother tongue (Igbo) ‒ oji onye no n’ ala ji onwe ya. This means literally that one who holds someone on the ground equally holds him/herself. Applied to unforgiveness, it means that one places oneself in the same boat as the offender.
In my own case, unforgiveness creates a barrier for me in prayers, especially when I am asking for some favors from God. Moreover, it blocks my experience of the peace and joy of the Holy Ghost because I feel like a hypocrite. Thus, even when it may require some significant effort, I find letting go of hurts to be more peaceful than bearing grudges.
God is the Reason for our Forgiveness
Beyond the physical effects of unforgiveness, what of the aspect of our experience of God’s love and how it urges us to let go of other people’s transgressions? Many parables in the Bible offer lessons on forgiveness; the prodigal son (Lk 15,11-32), the unforgiving steward (Mt 18,21-35), the story of the adulterous woman (Jn 8,1-20), etc.
We may want to make some time to read the beautiful stories on God’s mercy and forgiveness contained in these passages. Among these teachings, the narrative of the ‘unforgiving steward’ touches me the most. We can forgive better, no matter the immensity of the failure of others, when we recall the immensity of our own weaknesses and God’s offer of forgiveness for them all. Unfortunately, the traditional soteriology places God’s forgiveness on Jesus’ suffering and death as an atonement for sins, making it somewhat difficult for some people of our times to grasp the depth of God’s forgiveness.
Forgiven Beyond Imagination
Yet, beyond this traditional soteriology, we can find an abundance of grace in our daily life. We are saved from certain repercussions for our mistakes and sin even when we do not expect it. Next, we are forgiven our great offenses against our spouse, colleagues, employers, friends, etc beyond our imagination. We are forgiven by God and preserved from embarrassment for our many failures. Joel Osteen, the pastor of Lakewood Ministries, once used an analogy of the function of a car navigator to represent the immensity of God’s forgiveness. No matter how many times we miss our route by not following the direction of the Navi, the voice behind the Navi continues to recalculate the route, to put us back on the right track. It never stops.
We are reminded today, that being human makes us feel pain at the failings of others against us. Yet, we are called to be perfect as our heavenly father. This perfection, to my understanding, lies in our forgiving others their shortcomings.
