WHERE THERE IS INJURYReading: Ephesians 4: 17-32
Last year in our Faith and Friendship gatherings we spent the whole year reflecting on forgiveness. I think you would agree with me when I say that even then we were only beginning to skim the surface of what it means to forgive and of the power for healing, renewal and growth that there is when we choose to embark upon such a journey. Conversely, when we resist such a journey, the inevitable result is only further hurt, imprisonment in negative feelings and stunted spiritual growth.
None of us can go through life without being hurt and wounded. The wounds that go deepest are those inflicted upon us by those we would have considered our friends or loved ones. To love means that we make ourselves vulnerable and expose ourselves to the risk of being hurt. Whenever that happens we do have a choice though it may not immediately seem as if we do. Do we remain in the ‘uncomfortable comfort zone’ of nursing the wrong done to us and, as a result, begin to view the whole of life through grudge-tinted spectacles? This was partly what St. Paul was alluding to in his letter to the Ephesians when he said, “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” Or do we courageously make the decision to begin the process of forgiveness, to sow pardon where there has been injury? This decision can never be forced. Each person’s story is sacred. Their struggle and their pain is holy ground. But if they are given the grace and the courage to make such a decision, to set out on such a journey, to sow such a seed, they will discover that it has a domino effect. They will reap a surprising and rich harvest that they never imagined possible. They will have become an instrument of God’s peace, for themselves and for others. According to St. Paul, we are called to live as Children of Light. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
There are huge issues of forgiveness to be addressed, not only in our personal lives, but in our community, political and church life. Nor does it stop there. Ancient ‘wrongs’, real or imagined, wounds and injustices inflicted on one group, or tribe or nation by another can so fuel a sense of injury that history is littered with the tragic consequences of those who have let the sun go down upon their anger and so have given Satan a mighty foothold. Tomorrow we will be history. As children of light, we have the key, in forgiving, to leave behind a different story.
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