Every conversion story is enlightening and encouraging us to grow in faith. I was watching the conversion story of Fr. John Corapi recently. It was personally uplifting for me as he spoke about his personal life: he searched for meaning in life; worked in almost all areas to find easy money and fame; lived in Vegas and befriended celebrities who in turn befriended him to drugs and at the verge of death in a mental hospital he was given a rosary by his mom and asked him to pray. His reading of prayer got deepened and he told him mom that he wanted to confess his sins to a priest. After the confession he told the priest that he wanted to be a priest and started absolving others sins including that of his own father! Isn’t it wonderful and easy to share with people that God’s forgiveness is so easy and ready?
How about human forgiveness? A lady loved her grand-daughter and did everything for her. The grand-daughter with her boyfriend went ahead and stole all the valuables from the granny and ran off! Is it easy to forgive? An abusive husband for 18 years who was ready even to kill her and she managed to escape from him got divorce and escaped death! Is it easy to forgive? Abused by a priest or an older person; grew up into adulthood with no confidence nor a sense of achievement filled with all kinds of psychological illness. Is it easy to forgive? Is it easy to forgive a cheating husband? Cheating wife? Children who want to have their ways no matter what happens?
The simplest truth to understand here is we can’t forgive others the way God forgives us. One of the reasons for this comparison some argue is that we all sin and God doesn’t. God doesn’t need our forgiveness whereas we all depend on each other’s forgiveness. That is not the foundation for the understanding of forgiveness here! The foundation here is the exchange of goodness for tyranny; embrace for crucifixion; love for hatred and all other opposite effects and emotions for God’s pure love. 1st reading talks about such profound exchange between God and David.
The beginning of the end of our forgiving self is forgetfulness of God’s generosity. The more we are appreciative and aware of God’s generosity the more forgiving we become. David forgot what he received from God; Simon the Pharisee in the gospel forgot what he received from God and also failed to see what the sinful woman received before and during the washing of the feet of Jesus! Our failure to forgive often results from a particular situation and not from the collective personality of a person.
Stephen Covey narrates a few good stories on forgiveness in families as he validates the point that we will always be victims until we forgive; when we truly forgive we open the channels through which trust and unconditional love can flow. What good is there to boast of a God who forgives and we don’t? Hatred is like cancer; has the ability to spread not only in your body but all those you come in contact with. Forgiveness is the antidote. The joy of apologizing is rewarding but the joy of forgiving is rejuvenating. … as we forgive those who sin against us should become a reality in each of us. The point to notice here in Our Father is the prayer of forgiveness is next to our prayer for food. As Gandhi said, “forgiveness is the attribute of the strong; the weak can never forgive.” Are you strong?
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