As we celebrate this year of mercy I can't help but think about forgiveness! Something which is so difficult for many of us to do but so necessary for the followers of Jesus. Over and over again we here Jesus speak to us about forgiveness. In the Lords Prayer we here hear Jesus say that we must forgive the sins of others if we want God to forgive us. “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus goes on to say quite directly that if we do not forgive others than God will not forgive us either! So forgiveness is necessary for the disciple of Jesus!
One of the reasons I think many people have a hard time to forgive is because we want them to deserve it. If they say they are sorry…. If the pay for the damages…. We shouldn’t forgive someone because they deserve it but rather because Jesus asks us to forgive from our hearts. When we forgive from our hearts we also find that we ourselves are healed. If you think about it forgiveness has everything to do with mercy. If someone says that they are sorry or pays us back for something they have done then our forgiveness would be a part of justice. But forgiveness is rather more to do with mercy. In the Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the man who owed a huge debt that he couldn’t possibly pay back. The master forgives the man his entire debt. This same man however goes out and throws a fellow man in prison for not repaying a very small debt in comparison to himself. The master upon hearing it calls him back and reinstates the debt because he refused to forgive his neighbor.
Forgiveness has everything to do with mercy. When it comes to our sins, we are all in need of God’s mercy. There is nothing we could do to pay for our sins in the end we are all beggars before God and must rely on God’s mercy. When it comes to forgiving others it is forgiving the debt that they owe us. When we do this we find that it is us who are actually set free and great healing comes from it. If you are having a hard time to forgive someone in your life, try inviting Jesus to forgive that person through you. “Jesus I don't know how to forgive this person, but I know you do. I give you permission to work through my life and to forgive them through me. Amen.”
As we continue in this year of mercy to ask God’s mercy for our own sins let us not forget to practice mercy ourselves. Who are the people in your own life that Jesus is asking you to forgive?
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