The RewardReading: 1 Matthew 5: 1-11
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
This prayer of Francis is a progression. We move from the main petition that we be made, by the Lord, into instruments of his peace through the work, the transforming that needs to take place within ourselves in order that we may sow the seeds of peace in all areas of discord or disharmony. We then find ourselves in the upside down kingdom of God where things as we have known them or expected them to operate are somehow turned on their head. This is most clearly spelled out for us in Scripture in the Beatitudes. God’s agenda begins to take over from the world’s agenda and it leads us to some surprising places and encounters and demands a different way of reacting. We have made the decision to follow, to walk this particular road that at times will be a costly one to travel. And then, at the end, we reach the blessing or the reward. . It is not for dissection. It’s part of a whole, as if each phrase is saying the same thing in a different way. It’s all about letting go and about the mystery of not knowing the consequence until we have actually done it. That’s where trust comes in big-time! We resist, sometimes to the bitter (and it can be bitter) end, the letting go, whereas if we had done it with a joyous abandon, as Francis did all those years ago in front of the Bishop and his irate father, we would be blessed much sooner!
We often wait for the other person to make the first move, especially in the whole area of forgiveness, feeling justified because it is we who have been hurt the most. God freely offers us his forgiveness but sometimes we don’t experience it or ‘feel’ as if we have been forgiven. One of the meanings of the word is to ‘give something before.’ “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.” It’s not that God doesn’t want to forgive us, but if we are holding resentment, grudges or unforgiveness in our hearts, then somehow the flow of God’s forgiveness is obstructed, not from his side but from ours. There are different kinds of giving, of letting go. If we give in order somehow to have power over a situation or other people, if we are into control, then we’re not going to receive. We’re going to take. Our giving, as everything else must stem from love. God loved the world so much that he gave and gave and gave again. It is when we give without calculation, without seeking any return on our gift that we can be surprised by joy and can learn how to be receivers rather than takers.
We fight death so much, don’t we? Not just physical death, but the death of the familiar, what we’ve been used to. Yet transformation has to do with dying, dying to the old self, entering the chaos and emerging into something new, a type of resurrection. Eternal life is not something that begins at some vague point after death. It is something that can begin right now, in this moment, when we let go of some of the old and often negative securities, and enter the unknown – with God.
To be an instrument of God’s peace is the greatest calling on any person of faith. It is not for the faint-hearted. In the end it will cost everything but that need not be a negative or a terrifying prospect. The process of being made or moulded into such an instrument will last a lifetime, and even then there’s more! But God takes us at a pace that he knows we can cope with even if we think it’s too much. We are not ‘made’ or transformed all at once. And there are blessings, rewards, even joy along the way – eternity moments that keep us going. Having said that, remember that when we earnestly pray this prayer, God takes us at our word. St. Francis warned his followers: “While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. Nobody should be roused to wrath or insult on your account. Everyone should rather be moved to peace, goodwill and mercy as a result of your self-restraint. For we have been called for the purpose of healing the wounded, binding up those who are bruised, and reclaiming the erring.”
In a sense that is what we have been called to in faith and Friendship. As the years progress, the outer circumstances may change. The essential calling doesn’t. It’s just that, for those with a deep commitment to follow – that is, not only to believe but to follow – we are being taken deeper. The challenge to be instruments of his peace is more profound, more all-embracing and has consequences that we might never have imagined when we started out - for our own lives and the lives of those around us. One of the best known quotations from St. Francis comes as he is nearing the end of his earthly journey. He says to his brothers – and sisters – “Let us begin again, for up to now we have done nothing.” That’s a good place to be. I pray that in Faith and Friendship, for as long as God keeps us in being, we will always find ourselves in that space. It’s the place of humility, of grace, of love, of hope. It is the place of resurrection and open doors and new opportunities, a place where we can pray with ever increasing desire and conviction, “Lord, make me…”