We desire and expect, when we offend someone, that they excuse and shrug off our offense, if not immediately, at least within a reasonable time: maybe we were under stress, in a bad mood, distracted, tired, not feeling well, just not thinking, or many other excuses that we graciously permit ourselves.
Quite often, we do not allow the same generous spirit when we are the one who has been hurt. We stew about the situation and replay it in our minds, over and over again. We talk about it with others. We believe that it was done deliberately, and leave no room to offer excuses for their action. We make the judgment that they don’t deserve our forgiveness and justify holding on to our unforgiving spirit. If moving toward forgiveness is on our radar, we want to wait a while before we extend it to them, so they can at least “pay for it!”
In this great Jubilee Year of Mercy, we can’t be reminded enough, “Be merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you” (Lk 6 vs 36-38).
It is really scary to think about our behavior at times. If God measures out forgiveness to us in the same way that we measure it out to others, many of us are in trouble. Why don’t we get it? Scripture is chock-full of examples of God and His mercy. He is very clear to us about the expectations that He has for us: “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Mt 18 vs 21-22).
Jesus then makes His point even stronger by telling the parable of the ruthless servant who after being forgiven an enormous debt by the king, refuses to forgive a small debt that is owed to him. When the king learns of the actions of the unforgiving servant, he summons him. “You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? Then in his anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart” (Mt 18 vs 32-35).
We are all God’s servants, incapable of paying back the enormous debt that is owed Him. We are all sinners and offend God and others daily. We must not hold back mercy to others. We must put on the mind of Christ. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Lk 23 vs34).
We cannot do this on our own. We are utterly dependent upon God and His graces to even desire to move in this direction. God’s grace is there for us. We must accept it and move our wills towards living as His children, by offering His mercy to all – especially to those who, in our opinion, do not deserve it!
Immersing ourselves in scriptures that speak of God’s mercy will assist us. Psalm 136 tells us over and over that “His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 103 speaks of His many attributes: He pardons, heals, has compassion, is kind and forgiving. In Exodus 34 vs 6, God spoke to Moses, “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”
As Pope Francis tells us, Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy. We must learn to imitate Our Lord and do what He tells us. “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for He makes the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” Mt 5 vs 44-46, 48).
Perfection in the eyes of God is not doing everything perfectly but in loving and forgiving as He does. Make no mistake. This is a huge undertaking for us who are so wounded by our own personal sins, as well as from the sins that others have afflicted upon us. But our good God would not command us to do something that we are unable to accomplish. With His help and His grace let us put our trust in Him and begin to reflect our heavenly Father's lavish mercy.
“We need to constantly contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity and peace. Our salvation depends upon it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters in the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness” (Pope Francis Papal Bull).
In this Year of Mercy, may we open our hearts to the extraordinary ocean of God’s graces that are being poured out upon the Church. May we begin to show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as we want others to show to us.
May we drink deeply from the wellspring of God’s mysterious mercy by accepting it from God and giving it to others. Despite our sinfulness, God loves each of us now and forever. Let us do the same. Like Jesus, let us become the face of the Father’s mercy!
Please Lord, let me be a victim of your Mercy and not your justice. Help me too, to extend mercy to all whom I come in contact with, especially those who offend me. Amen.
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