A Vision that Pierces Darkness

Forgiveness. It's the christian attitude that stumps most, even those who call themselves christian. It isn't a condescending pardon. It isn't a passive acceptance. It deals with more than letting go, though that too is necessary. Forgiveness is a type of vision, a realization, an acknowledgment of our human condition. Forgiveness comes only when I realize that I am not all that different from the one I must forgive.

We understand the true attitude of forgiveness from one of the most common of prayers, the Our Father. Forgive us we pray as we forgive those who sin against us. Forgiveness is not just ours to give, but ours to receive. As such, it is an acknowledgment that just as this one has done something offensive against me, so I too, willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly, have done to others. Forgiveness portrays our vision of this earthly condition we all share. After all, we are all capable of misrepresenting truth, of selfishness, egoism, and worst of all, arrogance. To stand in judgment of someone who is in denial of these things is to stand in denial ourselves. For unforgiveness is darkness.

If you seek to prepare your heart this Advent season, find a way to empty it of revenges and resentment. For forgiveness isn't about the person who has offended. It is about my ability to pierce the darkness around me and see life for what it really is, to see my place in the scheme of things, to know that, but for some quirk of nature, I could easily be the very one I need to forgive.