Forgiveness

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Forgiveness

Repentance     Restoration

Seek    Pray     Choose

He Redeems Your Life

Pardon

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scriptures:   Sirach 28:2 to 4

Forgive the injustice of your neighbor. Then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.

If you are letting anger grow within you towards others, can you really expect the Lord to heal you?

If you refuse to be merciful to others, can you really seek pardon for your own sins?

Psalm 103:3 and 4

The Lord pardons all your sins and heals all your hurts.

God redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with kindness and compassion.

Matthew 18:21 and 22

Peter asked Jesus, "If my sister or brother harms me, how many times should I offer my forgiveness? As many as seven times?"

Jesus said, "No, not seven times but seventy-seven times."

Reflection

Our three readings all stress the importance of forgiveness. In Sirach the author ties our giving forgiveness to others to God giving forgiveness to us for our sins and offenses.

The reason for this is pointed out in Sirach. If we do not forgive others, anger grows within us. It is that anger which does not allow us to enter into the forgiveness that God wants to grant us so that our hearts and minds can be healed. Our anger literally blocks the healing and forgiveness. 

Psalm 103 tells us about God's intention towards us. God is a God of forgiveness. God wants to offer us pardon and healing. What an amazing God!

God wants to redeem us. God does not want us to feel left out or alone. We can face destruction and ruin. Our anger and lack of forgiveness can lead us down the wrong paths.

How many times do we hear of a person whose anger got so out of control that it lead to violence? God is leading us in another direction. God offers pardon to us so that we can extend that forgiveness to another person when we are being put down or our feelings are hurt.

In Matthew Jesus lets Peter know that our forgiveness should have no limits. Peter mentions seven times and this seems like a lot to most of us. Jesus takes it to another level entirely. He says it should be seventy-seven times. Since seven in the Jewish tradition was a number of perfection and completion, seventy-seven times refers to absolute and total forgiveness. Jesus is telling us that we have to ALWAYS forgive. That is our challenge.

Why does Jesus give us this challenge? It seems so hard.

Jesus knows that giving forgiveness to others is good for us. It lessens the anger we feel that can lead to such destructive actions.

Embrace that gift of pardon that Jesus offers!

Then share it with others!

1. Do you think God can forgive you if you do not forgive others?

2. Have you ever noticed that your anger blocked you from forgiving someone?

3. How do you feel when you realize that God has forgiven you?

4. Is Jesus being realistic when He tells us that there should be no limits on our forgiveness?

5. What do you feel when you reflect on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)