HOW CAN YOU PRAY WHEN YOU HAVE NOT FORGIVEN
As long as we live in this world with other human beings, we will always get offended. People will continue to get us angry because we always seek our personal gain and interest and we get angry if they are not met. We also have our egos to protect, thus we easily feel hurt by others. At the same time, many of us do not easily feel that we have hurt others. It is imbedeeded in human nature, we struggle daily to be more careful and avoid wrong acts.
Human beings are very impatient with one another. We easily remember the wrong things others have done to us and we treat them badly.
In the first reading of today, the sage Sirach tells us to forgive the wrongs of others. We should not keep what others have done to us in mind. There is no need to harbour anger and resentment. We cannot be keeping malice and planning evil against those who have wronged us and expect God to continually be merciful to us. We should learn to bear with those who are weak.
The responsorial psalm of today tells us that Godis compassionate and gracious, he is slow to anger and merciful. God continue to forgive us, we too must forgive our neighbours.
If we as Christians always think of the last four things which are Death, judgement, heaven and hell, we will be conscious of the fact that there is no need to refuse forgiveness. In fact, the one who refuses to forgive suffers more than the offender, especially when the offender has asked for forgiveness. It is true that it is not easy to forgive, especially grievous wrongs done to us such as murder of one's parent. But life in the end will be meaningless if we do not. Only God can help us to forgive.
In the Old Testament, there was no concept of forgiveness. It was 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'. You are expected to do to others the same way they have done to you. In Amos 1:3-12 forgiveness is not more than three times. Peter therefore was very considerate and thought that Jesus would praise him in the gospel reading of today when he asked if he could forgive up to 7 times. Jesus therefore used a parable to teach him that the wrong others have done to us which we have refused to forgive, cannot be compared to what we have done against God. 7 is a perfect number, thus to forgive 70 x 7 times is another way of saying that perfect forgiveness is infinite, not for us to literarily be counting it.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:7 those who are merciful will also be shown mercy. James 2:13 tells us also that there will be judgment without mercy for those who have not been merciful.
Let us truly gain our peace and tranquility today, let us work out our salvation by forgiving those who have wronged us, so that we can confidently ask God to forgive us. God help us. Amen.
Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP
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