By Fr Arockia Dhas Rayappan –
What does forgiveness do in our life? Archbishop Hebda says that forgiveness is the way to turn the coin back to heads and return to love. He highlights that Jesus often spoke about forgiveness. He forgave those who sinned against others. He not only forgave those who sinned against him but also asked the Church to continue his healing and forgiving ministry. He taught, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you” (Matthew 6.14). His disciple Peter asked Jesus how often it is necessary to forgive, and Jesus replied, “Seventy times seven” (Matthew 18.22). Here, seventy times seven is just a symbolic number for the never-ending way that we ought to forgive. Forgiveness is incumbent on us because of our faith and discipleship in Jesus who used parables to illustrate various aspects of forgiveness.
In the same way, the Archbishop used the parable of the coin. Jesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant during his conversation with his disciple Peter (Matthew 18.23-35). Luke’s Gospel has five parables on forgiveness: the barren fig tree (Luke 13.6-9); the bent over woman (Luke 13.10-13); the lost sheep (Luke 15.4-7); the lost coin (Luke15.8-10); and the greatest forgiveness parable of all, the prodigal son (Luke 15.11-32). The author prefers to use the title of ‘The Forgiving Father Who Abounds in Unconditional Love’ for the last parable. Jesus was extremely kind and merciful in the way that he forgave, particularly, those who sinned against others. Jesus told the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2.5); when a sinful woman bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7.48); when a woman caught in adultery was brought before him, he said, “I do not condemn you” (John 8.11); and when Jesus was hanging on the Cross, he told the repentant criminal, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23.43).
Even more compelling is the way that Jesus forgave those who sinned against him directly. For Jesus, forgiveness was not an automatic choice; it was intentional and conscious. After the Roman soldiers had scourged and nailed him, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23.34). After the Resurrection, Jesus had every right to be furious with Peter who had denied him and the other disciples, who had deserted him. When the Risen Lord entered the Upper Room, they deserved a severe reprimand, but instead, with divine compassion, Jesus said not once but three times, “Peace be with you” (John 20.19, 21, 26), the Archbishop pinpoints. Jesus’ forgiveness does not seek reason from the one who is offered forgiveness (John 21.15-19). It spontaneously offers a benefit of doubt to the person.
According to Pope Francis, “God forgives incalculably, exceeding all measure. This is how he is; he acts out of love, and gratuitously … For outside of forgiveness, there is no hope; outside of forgiveness there is no peace.” In his Angelus message, he even compared forgiveness to “oxygen that purifies the air polluted by hatred” and heals the “many diseases of the heart that contaminate society” (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255396/pope-francis-forgiveness-is-the-cure-that-heals-the-poisons-of-resentment).
Let us never fail to give it a try to experience forgiveness and healing inspired by the words of Pope Francis who upholds that we experience forgiveness and healing from the snares of the past because of our response to Jesus by listening to his Living Word who gives new meaning to our lives without fail, and heals our wounded memory by grafting upon it the remembrance of God and his works for us as revealed in the Mystery of Jesus’ birth, life, preaching, healing, agony, passion, death, resurrection and ascension including the descending of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost as found in the Word of God.
Let Jesus be the yardstick when the next opportunity arises to gift and experience forgiveness. Let our forgiveness to each other be a choice that is conscious – intended at the wholeness and total healing of the person for a new life of fullness filled with opportunities for new mission guided by a communitarian discernment.
Father Arockia D. Rayappan ([email protected]) is a priest of Delhi Archdiocese and a Ph.D. student at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. His ministry in the states of Delhi and Haryana has been in missions of Rohtak and Dharuhera, parishes, the Formation Commission, seminary, and school. He served as the deputy secretary general and PRO of the Regional Bishops’ Council of the North from 2012-2014. His contributions have been published in The Voice of Delhi, The Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, The Indian Currents, The New Leader, The Examiner, The Tablet-Brooklyn, USA, Golden Key Academy-Atlanta, USA, and JDV Times.