You may have heard the story of a police officer who stopped a motorist speeding down Central Avenue. “Officer,” the driver began. “I can explain.”“Just be quiet,” the officer snapped. “You were driving twice the speed limit.”
“But, officer...” “I said be quiet! You’re going to jail! The chief will handle you.”
Later the officer looked in on him and said, “Lucky for you the chief’s at his daughter’s wedding. He’ll be in a good mood when he gets back.”
“Don’t count on it,” the prisoner answered. “I’m supposed to be the groom.” Yes, it's important to listen so that "every fact may be established."
The Word of God takes us back to the prophet named Ezekiel. The 6th century BC was a catastrophe for the Hebrews. Babylonia conquered the southern kingdom, mowed Jerusalem down, destroyed the Temple and deported many Hebrews.
God calls Ezekiel to be a “watchman” for the spiritual well-being of the Hebrews. Ezekiel’s job is to exhort them to do what is right and true and good. And the author urges you and me to do the same. That’s what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. How relevant here are the words of the 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Rome simply reminds us: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Yes, we love God to the extent we care for one another. And who is our neighbor? The person at home, in the workplace, in the community.
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges us to settle our differences, not by complaining to everyone else about the other people whose misbehavior annoys us -- but by going directly to them first to resolve our problem. Conflicts are inevitable in human relationships. If dealt with constructively they can create even better, life-long relationships.
I can imagine Jesus saying to us in light of this Gospel passage: focus on the behavior, not the personality; avoid negative name calling. Seek common ground. Manage your own emotions. Always stay positive; never go low. Be trustworthy, open, fair and calm.
St. Paul wrote centuries ago: “Love does not brood over injuries.” All of us must be willing to forgive so-called “injuries” done to us and work to create positive relationships. Forgiveness is a primary characteristic of discipleship with Jesus.
There’s a folk wisdom that says: “forgive and forget.” But sometimes we can’t forgive deep hurts unless we remember! Perhaps we may even have contributed to a rift. We have to forgive ourselves as well, so we can move forward with our life.
In a favorite book of mine, The Hiding Place, the Dutch author describes how her family hid some Jews from the Nazis during the 2nd WW. She tells about the sufferings of people in a particular concentration camp where her own sister perished. Corrie ten Boom later lectured throughout post-Europe about the need to forgive one another.
Following one of her talks, a man came up. She recognized him immediately—he had been a guard at the concentration camp.
She wrote about this encounter in her book:
The SS guard said, “How grateful I am for your message. To think that, as you say, Christ has forgiven me for I am truly sorry for what I did!”
Suddenly, the memories flooded her mind: the so-called shower room, the laughing SS, the heaps of clothes on the floor, the frightened face of her sister. This former SS guard extended his hand to shake hers. And she, who had lectured about forgiveness, kept her hand at her side as she began to have angry, vengeful thoughts.
And then she remembered: Jesus Christ died for this man; and forgives him. Lord Jesus, she prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. She tried to smile, to raise her hand. But she couldn’t. So again she breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I can’t forgive him for what he did. Give me your forgiveness.
Corrie Ten Boom went on to recall that as she then took the man's hand she felt an “electric current” pass from her into the hand of this SS guard and she felt a love that almost overwhelmed her.
Forgiveness depended not upon her, but upon God’s grace. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he gives us the grace to love, to forgive those who are truly sorry.To forgive as Christ forgives is sometimes impossible to do on our own. But Christ doesn’t ask us to forgive on our own. He simply asks that we participate in his gift. God has already forgiven those who are truly sorry. Forgiveness is possible when we trust in God’s grace to bring about healing and reconciliation.
God is never satisfied with broken relationships, and neither should we be. As God constantly searches out the lost, so should we; and as God always welcomes back the stranger, so should we.
Forgiveness frees us to move forward. Focus on our destiny.
Today the Word of God invites us to stand up for what is right; to love one another; to participate in God's gift of forgiveness. And I pray that God will give all of us the grace to participate in the forgiveness of Christ, so that we can be at peace with ourselves and one another, true disciples of Jesus.
