Obtaining Forgiveness

32nd Week in Ordinary Time - Monday; Memorial of St Josaphat (12 November 2018)

Titus 1:1-9

Luke 17:1-6

“And if your brother or sister wrongs you seven times in one day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I am sorry,' you must forgive them.”

If a fellow-Christian is clearly in the wrong, she should be corrected. And, if she clearly repents, then she is to be forgiven. Even if she commits the same offence any number of times and each time expresses sincere sorrow, she is to be forgiven. This is not to say that a person can keep doing wrong and expect forgiveness simply by saying she is sorry. Some kind of controlling action may have to be taken. This is especially the case where the person is not in control of oneself, which could be the case with someone who is an alcoholic, a drug addict, a sex abuser or the victim of some other compulsive behaviour. But even here, punishment alone cannot be a satisfactory solution but every effort must be made to heal and rehabilitate.

When Jesus suggests that we should be willing to forgive each other up to seven times a day, he turns forgiveness into a way of life. That doesn’t mean that we should take forgiveness lightly. But obtaining forgiveness is a serious issue even when it becomes our way of life.

To obtain forgiveness or amnesty in the reconciliation process in South Africa under the chairmanship of Archbishop Desmond Tutu a confession has to be made, the truth about what went wrong has to be revealed, and regret and sorrow have to be expressed. It is only when those conditions are fulfilled that amnesty is granted.

Sister Helen Prejean, who wrote the startling book (which was also made into a movie) Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, tells about a father, Lloyd Leblanc, whose seventeen-year-old son was murdered by two brothers, Patrick and Eddie Sonnier. Patrick got the death penalty. Lloyd had told Sister Prejean that he would have been satisfied with life imprisonment for Patrick. He decided nevertheless to go to Patrick’s execution, but not to see justice done or out of revenge. He hoped that Patrick would show regret and would apologize.

He was not disappointed. Before sitting down in the electric chair Patrick addressed Lloyd. He said, “Mr. Leblanc, I want to ask your forgiveness for what me and Eddie done.” Lloyd Leblanc nodded his head, as a sign of the forgiveness he had already granted.

Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it is the only way to overcome the past, and to bring our world together. The most difficult one to forgive is often yourself. But forgiveness is the only way to keep yourself together, enabling you to live on!