Happy Laetare Sunday! We’re almost
there, folks—Easter is drawing very near! For our final reflection
on the Prodigal Son, I’d like to take up the question of why it is
so hard to forgive those who have hurt us and why it is sometimes
difficult to seek the forgiveness of others.
Think about a story you’ve heard in
the news where someone’s sins were publicly exposed. We’ve all
heard these stories of people who have done gravely scandalous things
that have brought shame upon themselves, their families, their
workplaces, and everyone around them, and the media unfailingly
informs us of their sins in graphic detail. How does society usually
react? That’s right—swift and uncompromising judgment
of the one who sinned. Perhaps you’ve heard commentators on the
news saying grossly uncharitable things or have read comments on news
stories suggesting that the offender should burn in Hell. Now
imagine that the sinner is someone you know well.
Perhaps this person who is so vilified in the press is a close
friend, someone you’ve known for many years whom you respect or
even hold in high esteem. How would you feel?
This exact scenario has happened to me
twice in the last year, and I can tell you from experience that it is
not a pleasant thing to bear. Perhaps some of you have also found
yourself suddenly bearing this cross. I think, though, that the
father and his two sons point us toward the way of healing, and
through this Parable, Jesus calls us beyond the knee-jerk reaction of
the world to public sin to a deeper experience of the healing love
and mercy our Father offers us through His life, death, and
resurrection.
Yesterday, we talked about how our
Father desires restoration for all of us. We know from
the teaching of Jesus and the command of the Lord’s Prayer that we
must forgive those who have sinned against us; this reminder is
frequently given to us in the Scriptures, especially the ones we read
throughout the season of Lent. A priest preached in a recent homily
that I heard that the Father does not ask us to do anything He has
not already done. But why is it so difficult for us to forgive those
who have hurt us?
Here I think is where we ought to
consider how Satan moves in our lives and the purposes he is trying
to accomplish. We know that Satan was one of God’s angels, he
decided not to obey God, he was kicked out of Heaven along with many
other angels who had allied themselves with him, and he is now the
father of lies, the enemy, and the tempter. I submit that Satan is
pretty ticked off that he’s now eternally separated from the
Father, and it drives him nuts to see us in union with the Father.
Whereas God desires restoration, Satan desires separation. It is
Satan’s temptation that fuels the younger son’s desire to go off
on his own and his fear of facing his father after this adventurous
life didn’t work out well. Satan’s temptation and lies fuel the
older brother’s pain and his reluctance to turn to his father or
forgive his brother. And it is Satan’s temptation and lies that
fuel the anger, bitterness, and resentment inside of us when people
hurt us. “Did you see what that person did? How could such a
person do that? That person is a monster! Why should I care about
that person? That person is a priest/deacon/church member/teacher?
What a hypocrite!” Again, how would you feel if the sinner was
your friend? Your family member? What would you do?
Thanks be to God that Satan does not
have to have the final word! If we recognize his efforts to destroy
our relationships and keep us separated from our Father and from one
another, we can choose the way that Jesus offers us in the parable of
the Prodigal Son and in His suffering on the cross. During his
Passion, Jesus certainly felt all of the human emotions we experience
when people sin against us. He physically suffered as a result of
the sins of His friends, His executioners, and the religious leaders
who colluded to put Him on the cross in the first place. But how did
Jesus deal with these sufferings? He brought them to His Father,
first
in the garden just before his betrayal and then again
on the Cross when He begged His Father to forgive
the sins of those who crucified Him. He turned all of
His pain toward the Father, who poured His mercy into His body on the
cross. This mercy flowed through Christ's crucified body upon the
soldiers, the disciples, and then most perfectly upon the Apostles
after His resurrection. Christ is healed perfectly in His Risen
Body; thus when He appears to the Apostles in the Upper Room and
while they are fishing, He is able to forgive
Peter for denying him, Thomas
for doubting His resurrection, and all of them for
abandoning Him during His Passion. He heals them so that they and
their successors are able to forgive our sins in His name.
For the Apostles and for us, healing
does not happen overnight. We can't just bring pain, fear, and
uncertainty to the Father once and be done with it because Satan will
continue to pick at these wounds and attempt to separate us from the
Father’s love and mercy. We must frequently bring these things to
Him and allow Him to heal us in time. The length of time depends on
the depth of the pain we bear in various situations. Some things can
be quickly healed, while other things won't be fully healed on this
side of the grave. But through the healing process, we draw closer
and closer to the Father and gradually become more whole (and more
holy!)
During these final days of Lent, I
would encourage you to seek the Lord’s healing in His presence in
the Eucharist and in the Sacrament of Penance. If you are on Spring
Break this week, try to go to Daily Mass or Eucharistic Adoration to
spend some time with Jesus. I have adopted St Michael as one of my
patrons, and I also offer you the
St Michael prayer asking for his protection. Thank
you for traveling with me through these extremely long reflections!
I wish you all a blessed Lent and a glorious celebration of God’s
love, mercy, and providence this Easter. Please know of my prayers
for you and for the Catholic community at WAC!
In Christ,
Gillian
*Note: If you attended Sacred Heart this Sunday, or another parish which took its readings from the Scrutinies, this Sunday's Gospel was not about the Prodigal Son, but about Jesus healing the blind man. Check back for the next few days to hear about the blind man, Jesus, and the Pharisees.
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