Lent Day 15 | 40 to Life
The below reflection was provided by the Diocese of Southern Virginia:
Friday in the Second Week of Lent
Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
There is a multitude of seemingly unforgivable deeds around us every day, from the most local to the most global. At this very moment, acts of war unfold in Europe. 400 civilians have been killed already. I have difficulty forgiving people nearby for minor misjudgments that go no further than my ego. Is it possible to forgive evildoers on the other side of the world? Jesus said: forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.
Each day situations become direr. There is no end to injustice and disrespect. People close to me have been hurt. People in my community are discriminated against. There must be a limit to what I can pardon. But Jesus said: don’t forgive just seven times, forgive four-hundred-ninety times. I think, like forty days and forty nights, “seventy times seven” means a bigger number than I can imagine.
Forgiving is hard. It hurts. It will make me feel weak. It takes away the control that I feel over an immediate situation. I frequently hear myself think “I couldn’t possibly forgive because…” but I’ve never gotten to the end of that thought because I don’t know any reason why it isn’t possible to forgive. I only know why I don’t want to and I know why it will be difficult.
Forgiving is possible. In forgiving, I am not robbed of anything. Not of control; I’ll have more control after I have released myself from the anger that is only hurting me. The pain of forgiving that I perceived is the pain of restricting compassion. Jesus taught us to pray: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Forgiving doesn’t mean ignoring my feelings. It means that I can release others and myself from anger so that I can embrace a strength bigger than me. I can forgive, and I will forgive because Jesus has given me the grace to do so.
The Diocesan Lenten Reflections come from clergy and laity in each of our nine convocations. The reflections are based on the collect appointed for each day in Lent. Today's collect and the associated daily readings can be found HERE.
