Every day I say a prayer at least seven times which, if I truly thought about its full meaning, would scare me half to death. I say the Lord’s Prayer through which I ask God to treat me the way I treat others. I suspect — even though I don’t like to admit it — that I secretly hope that God will treat me much better than I treat others. I am not a nasty person; at least I don’t think that I am. But there are times when I treat others rather shabbily, times when I find it hard to forgive. Oh, I can go through the external motions of being gingerly polite, but rancor may still be in my heart. So, let’s admit it. It takes courage to say the Lord’s Prayer.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions (Matthew 6:14-15). In this text, Jesus is blunt. If you forgive, God will forgive you. If you do not forgive, God will not forgive you. That’s it. Forgive or else. What does Jesus mean by such strong words? First, let’s be clear about what he doesn’t mean. He doesn’t mean that ours is a God of retaliation, a God who tells us, “I’ll show you. If you don’t forgive, I will get even. I won’t forgive you either.” Jesus reveals a God who loves us and continues tolove us, no matter what we do. The point Jesus is making is more subtle. He is telling us that God, as much as God might want to do so, cannot forgive us if we do not forgive others. He is telling us that forgiveness cannot be received by an unforgiving heart.

Outside of my office window is a cement sidewalk. I think to myself: How nice it would be if I could look out and, instead of seeing slabs of concrete, encounter a colorful garden of lovely flowers growing in the middle of that space. I might even ask a friend with a green thumb to plant such flowers there for me. Alas, as much as he might want to please me, it is impossible for my friend to do so. The concrete is too hard to receive the roots of the flowers. Likewise, a hardened heart can be no more open to forgiveness than concrete is to flower seeds. We must have our hardened hearts softened and opened by God’s grace so that God’s loving forgiveness can flow into us, then through us to others.

Do you remember the story of the Israelites in the desert protesting to Moses that they have no water? God ordered Moses to strike a huge rock with his staff and, behold, water gushed forth in abundance. Early Church writers often prayed for the gift of tears that would open their hearts and enable them to receive God’s loving forgiveness. In the Roman Missal, there is a beautiful “Mass for the Forgiveness of Sins” which is known more colloquially as the “Mass for the Gift of Tears.” The opening prayer is strikingly beautiful: “Almighty and most gentle God, who brought forth from the rock a fountain of living water for your thirsty people, bring forth, we pray, from the kindness of our hearts, tears of sorrow, so that we may lament our sins and merit forgiveness from your mercy.” The situation may well arise when this lovely prayer will prove helpful for any one of us.

About the Author: Father William Shannon is a retired priest of the Diocese of Honolulu, Hawaii. Now retired, Father Shannon is a former Capuchin Friar, parish priest, and diocesandirector of seminarians. If you enjoyed this week’s message, please check out “Bringing Home the Word!” A new edition is posted here every weekend! See link below!

CCGR Weekly Newsletter (1-1-19) 
Bringing Home the Word (12-30-18)

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