December 2004

Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Col. 3:13)

Christmas is drawing near; the Lord is about to come and the Advent readings invite us to prepare his way.

He who entered history two thousand years ago now wants to enter our lives, but the way is full of obstacles. We need to level the hills and remove the boulders. What kind of obstacles can block Jesus' path?

They are all the desires that rise up which are not according to the will of God. They might be attachments that get hold of us, like wanting to speak or to keep quiet when we should be doing the opposite; wanting affirmation, respect, or affection. Other obstacles can be to want material things, better health or even life itself when God does not want them. There can even be worse desires that push us to be rebellious, to pass judgement and to want to get our own back.

These desires come over us and invade our minds. But we have to overcome them, remove the obstacles, do God's will again and so prepare the way of the Lord.

Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Paul wrote these words to the Christians in one of his communities. They had experienced God's forgiveness and so were able to forgive those who had wronged them. He knew that they could go beyond the natural limits of loving, even to the point of being ready to give their lives for their enemies. Having been made new by Jesus and the life of the Gospel, they found the strength to go beyond rights and wrongs so as to build unity with everyone.

But love lives within the heart of every person and so everyone can put these words into practice.

An African proverb says: 'Do what the palm tree does: people throw stones at it and the tree gives dates in return'.

It is not enough, therefore, to refrain from responding to an accusation or an insult. We are asked to do more, to do good to those who hurt us, as the apostles remind us: 'Do not repay evil for evil, or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing' (1 Pet. 3:9) 'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good'. (Rom. 12:21)

Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

How can we put this word of life into practice?

We all have relatives, people in school or at work who at one time or another have wronged us, done us an injustice or hurt us.

Although we may not think in terms of getting our own back, we may still hold a grudge, or feel hostile or bitter towards them. We may simply feel indifferent about them. All of these feelings get in the way of a true relationship of mutual understanding and love.

What should we do?

Let's get up in the morning with a complete 'amnesty' in our heats, with a love that overlooks everything, that knows how to accept others just as they are, with all their shortcomings and difficulties - just as a mother does when her children make a mistake. She is always ready to find an excuse and to forgive, and is full of hope for them.

So let's approach each person, seeing them with new eyes, as though they had never made any mistakes.

Let's begin again each time knowing that God not only forgives but forgets. And he asks us to treat others with the same measure.

This is what happened to one of our friends. When his country was at war he saw his parents, his brother and many friends being massacred. His shock and suffering drove him to rebellion. He wanted the killers to have a punishment proportionate to their crime.

Jesus' words on the need for forgiveness kept coming back to him but they seemed impossible to put into practice. 'How can I love my enemies?' he asked himself. It took him several months and much prayer to find even a little inner peace.

A year later, when he discovered that not only were the assassins known to everyone but that they were still moving freely about the country, he once again felt overwhelmed by bitterness. He began to think how he would react if he were to meet those 'enemies'. He begged God to heal his pain and give him the strength to forgive yet again.

'Helped by the example of my friends with whom I try to live the Gospel,' he said, 'I understood that I had to stop letting my imagination be filled with those bitter thoughts and start paying more attention to loving the people beside me - my colleagues, my friends. By loving them concretely day by day I found the strength, little by little, to forgive completely my family's killers. Today my heart is at peace.'

Chiara Lubich