Forgiveness

Yitzak Rabin was Israel’s 5^th Prime Minister. On November 4, 1995 he was assassinated after attending a Peace Rally. Two bullets hit his chest. He was rushed to the hospital but died on the operating table due to loss of blood. Nurses found a blood-stained paper on his chest pocket containing the lyrics of the famous Israeli song of peace.

All his life, Rabin was a soldier and military leader. He was a brilliant planner and strategist. He hated and fought the Arabs all his life. Slowly, he became military Chief of Staff and Prime Minister. But on his 2^nd term as Prime Minister, he realized that hatred and fighting were vain. He got tired of fighting. Hatred only continued the cycle of violence and blood-shed. He saw that the only way to peace was forgiveness!

In 1993, he negotiated with the famous Palestinian Liberation Organization Leader, Yasser Arafat. The year after, in 1994, they made the historic hand-shake. Both leaders began the process of peace. But not everybody was happy. Eventually it brought about his assassination.

The Gospel brings out the lesson on forgiveness. Peter asks Jesus: how many times will he forgive an erring brother, seven times? But Jesus demands: not seven times… but seventy times seven times. This means: many times. Always. Endless!

There are three reasons why forgiveness is important:

1.    Forgiveness is Powerful. By keeping anger, hatred and resentment in your heart, you enemy has power over you. You allow your enemy to control you. But forgiveness sets you free. Forgiveness is power because it can change your life; it can change the world. Jesus broke the cycle of hate and built a civilization of forgiveness and love.

2.    Forgiveness is Healthy. We know Tom Cruise as a very successful actor. He has the looks, money and fame. We think he’s got everything. Yet he also had a sad story to tell. He grew up in poverty with an abusive father dominating the family. Because his mother had three jobs and was too busy providing for her family, he was dyslexic (not able to read). Yet Tom did not let these limitations define his life. He moved on. It is told that when his dad was dying, he asked forgiveness for his past. But he had already forgiven him a long time ago. He chose the way to freedom; he chose the way to peace. Forgiveness allows us to move on without anger or contempt. A writer said: if you have revenge in your heart, you are actually digging two grave – for your enemy and for yourself!

3.    Forgiveness is Divine. We often hear it said: “to err is human; to forgive is divine. Forgiveness makes us noble. It makes us share God’s extraordinary quality – it makes us godly.

Jesus challenges us to become channels and instruments of his mercy and compassion by practicing unconditional forgiveness.

Social Conscience

I used to be naughty as I was growing up. I would tease my young siblings especially my sister to the point of making her angry; many times to the point of tears. She even ran after me with a table fork! I had the liberty to do this because my parents were away. At home, we only had our helper who was also a distant relative to manage the house. But I was beyond her control. At any hint of trouble, I was the culprit.

When dad arrived, my sister would immediately report all my trouble making at home. At first, my dad would call me and advise me to be more kind and respectful. But after several warnings and futile efforts to correct me, he was forced to execute disciplinary measures. I remember my dad spanking me several times. I resented him for that. On hindsight, I realize what my dad did was right. He had the duty to correct me. I believe, I am a better person today because of those “spankings.” Today I understand better that he did what he should do because he truly cared for me.

Our Sunday Gospel (Mt18:15-20) reminds us of our Christian commitment to take care of each other. In the family, it is the parents’ duty to teach and demonstrate to their children Christian values and virtues. These are reinforced in the school community by the teachers and educators. Robert Fulghum, author of the book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” enumerates basic lessons he learned “not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School.”

Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die; so we do.

Don’t hit people and saying I’m sorry are basic things in life. They are rudimentary values that bring nobility in the world. They put order in our society and they are the bedrock of a respectful community. When a child forgets all these things, the father or the mother usually repeats the lesson. The child is told. The “spanking” may be necessary as a deterrent. Today, the spanking may not be physical. The principle is to win over the child to learn the lesson of respect and give value the person. The teacher does the same in school.

But when the wrong doing happens in society, who does the correcting? Who teaches the lessons of fair play in order to moderate greed? Israel had a tradition of rightful living. God instituted it by giving them a set of rules as guidelines for their actions. It became a requirement of the covenant for God to make of them a wise people with a noble heritage. Through the years when the people of Israel would forget the demands of the covenant, the prophets were there to remind them.

Prophet Amos, for instance, was just a simple farmer. He lived at a time in Israel when business had never been better. Merchants piled up big profits and luxuries like stone houses, ivory-inlaid furniture, good food and fine wine were readily available. There was peace and prosperity. Yet beyond such surface was a dark side that slowly disintegrated Israelite society. There was oppression of the poor, dishonesty in business, bribery in court, privileges bought with money. Worst of all, God became a mere additive to a convenient lifestyle. God called Amos to leave his job and carry an unwelcomed message to his people.

The Church has a prophetic role today like that of Amos. It is her role to challenge each disciple to be a shepherd to each other. She reminds everyone that one must care for each other as brother or sister. Love requires a commitment to bring a strayed brother or sister on the right path. Hence, we all have the duty to correct each other out of love. It is difficult became the messenger of the message is also targeted.

          The Church has the duty to correct like a mother. She is to be the social conscience of society in order to remind and repeat the fundamental lessons we learned as children: Play fair. Don’t hit people. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say sorry when you hit somebody. It is the way to go for a better society that promotes love, respect and forgiveness.

This article appears in Fr. Randy’s Column “Sharing the Word,” Faith Section of Cebu Daily News, September 10, 2017.