March 7/Second Saturday of Lent
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us. ~ Ps 103.11-12
Forgiveness is out of fashion, viewed in many quarters as a sign of weakness. Witness the lightning quick judgments of social media; read the savage recrimination heaped on a public figure who errs or strays; consider the mob justice that often springs from misapprehension or misinformation. We are zealous, most of us, in requiting others according to their (perceived) offenses. Even in our relationships with family and friends, forgiveness can be hard to practice. Resentment over those annoying little habits of our spouse accretes in our hearts; bitterness at a long-ago slight from a friend or neighbor lingers in our minds. We hang on to our anger at and judgment of others while telling ourselves that we are merely “holding people accountable.” God shows us another way to deal with those who offend us: the way of forgiveness. This is not to be a grudging act, a muttered and inaudible “never mind.” No, as our psalmist forthrightly proclaims in today’s verses, we are to forgive others as wholeheartedly as God forgives us. There can be no better example than today’s Gospel of the prodigal son. The wronged father could easily have rejected his wayward child, lashing out or turning his back on the returning prodigal. Instead, absorbing the hurt he has suffered, he opens his arms to embrace the wayward boy with a love that was as extravagant as it was undeserved. So it is with God, whose loving forgiveness of all his prodigal children – including you and me – extends as high as the highest height and ranges as wide as the widest width. If God can offer us such vast mercy, so much more are we called to offer a broad and expansive forgiveness to those who have hurt us.
O God of steadfast mercy, Give me the spiritual fortitude and grace to wrap my arms of forgiveness around those who have hurt or offended me. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030726.cfm
To hear the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir sing “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDRbBFeXkYk&list=RDnDRbBFeXkYk&start_radio=1
