On this Holy Thursday, we cannot help but think of signs. Give us a sign they would ask of Jesus (Mt 12:38). Don’t we all ask that of God at one time or another? Don’t we all want some sign of God's care?
If we read the gospels carefully, we will see that we are our own signs of God. And I believe one way we are that sign is through the act of forgiving. As Jesus told his disciples, we are not to forgive “seven times seven, but seventy times seven” (Mt 18: 22). And anyone who has ever been hurt or betrayed knows how hard it is to forgive.
I think forgiveness is a sign of the Divine Presence because it requires great faith. In effect it says, I have come to terms with my own vulnerability. I have accepted my limitations, I have acknowledged my own mess ups. When I have accepted my human condition, I will not be afraid to accept the limitations of others.
For are we not afraid of vulnerability? And is that not what forgiveness is all about?
When I face this truth, I am able to give to others that which is given to me. I offer faith in a Divine Being because I am able to acknowledges that when we are frail, we must turn to hope and faith. We must not be afraid of vulnerability. Forgiveness is an act that rejects the notion that I am secure. It rejects the fallacy that it is possible to be perfect.
Psychologists and counselors tell us, forgiveness is not only good, but necessary for our mental health. Jesus would tell us, forgiveness is good for our peace of mind. It is good for our soul. It is good for our hearts. To forgive is to acknowledge my own human status. It is to accept that I am not the only one who does not get it right all the time. It is to have the gentle heart and the open eyes that say, yea, we are all in this together.
So let us go forward. Let us be signs of God.
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