Long before there was a medical cure, a man was bitten by a rabid dog. The doctor informed the man that his condition was terminal; there was nothing that could be done except to try and make him as comfortable as possible. The doctor went on to suggest that he might want to put his affairs in order before it was too late.
Overwhelmed, the dying man eventually asked for pen and paper and began writing furiously. After some time, the doctor came back and said, “I see you took my advice and are making up a will.”
“Oh, this isn’t a will,” the man responded. “It’s a list of all the people I’m going to bite before I die!”
Perhaps not on paper, many of us probably have a similar list in our minds of people we’d like to get even with before we die. People who have wronged us, hurt us, or done something egregious against our loved ones. Yet such a way of thought goes against the very gospel teachings of Jesus Christ who taught that it is wrong to repay evil for evil.
The famous Christian author, C.S. Lewis wrote, “Forgiveness is a beautiful concept until, you actually have to forgive someone.” In other words, it’s easy to profess the virtue of forgiveness, but doing so is a whole other matter.
So why is it so difficult to forgive? Mainly because of pride. The impulse of human ego is to seek revenge when we’re wronged. In addition, forgiveness doesn’t seem fair because it obstructs our sense of justice. Man wants his “pound of flesh” so that he can he can feel vindicated.
Today’s parable, however, reminds us that if God forgives us – freely and without conditions – we MUST forgive others in the same way. And since we are made in the likeness of God, that same divine attribute is imbued deep within us, despite the frailty of our broken nature.
The world’s worst prisons are not Alcatraz or Devil’s Island, because those places can only confine ones’ body. But the prison of an unforgiving heart, confines the soul and prevents it from ever reaching the Kingdom of God.
Fr. John
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