"Then Peter came and said to him, 'Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.'" (Matthew 18:21-22)
Recently the world was horrified to learn of the gruesome murders that took place in a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; a small farming community west of Philadelphia. Of course, the only natural question to follow was "why?" The answer is remarkably simple, yet perhaps the most complicated answer one can offer - we don't know.
However, there was a second shock in relation to this crime; the shock of forgiveness. The world has watched the families of the young victims offer gestures and words of forgiveness toward the man who perpetuated the violence before their daughters had even been buried. Of course, the only natural question to follow was "why?" This answer is as simple and complicated too - because it is what Jesus taught us to do. In an interview late last week, one of the members of the community was asked how they could forgive and the response was "we would rather focus on the time that we had with them."
I believe that people come into our lives to teach us something. Even if only for a brief or painful time, people teach us about ourselves, about God or about human complexities. The challenge is when the people that come into our lives hurt us, and we must forgive. The question is naturally raised, "why?" The answer once again becomes - because it is what Jesus taught us to do.
Forgiveness is not glamorous nor is it easy, but it is what we as a people of faith are meant to do. It is the world that says "Hold a grudge, don't let them win!" It is Christ who says, "Forgive, so that love can win." I don't know who has caused you pain, but I know what you are called to do about it. May God give us that strength.
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