topleft05.jpg (18208 bytes)HOMILY
The Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)
18 February
07



You might recall the AP wire photo depicting Pope John Paul II seated on a chair in a Rabbibia prison cell.  The date was December 2, 1983, and the Pope was speaking with Mahmet Ali Agca.  This was the Turkish citizen who attempted to assassinate John Paul II on May 13, 1981.


 

At that meeting, the Pope extended forgiveness to his would-be assassin.  Then, seven years later—during the Great Jubilee Year 2000—Pope John Paul II asked Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy—and received—a pardon for Mahmet Ali Agca.

In both instances, it was the Pope’s expressed desire to demonstrate by his personal example that Jesus’ teaching in today’s gospel isn’t just a “nice idea.”  No, John Paul II wanted all of us to know that this is the way of life characterizing anyone who would wish to be one of Jesus’ disciples.  The all too familiar “don’t get angry, get even” and the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” mentalities which all too many people use to justify revenge, simply are not acceptable behaviors on the part of Jesus’ disciples.

Now, all of us know this.  It’s nothing new.  After all, we’ve been taught this important, if not crucial, spiritual lesson time and time again since we were youngsters and we know it to be true.  But, when someone hates us, curses us, or mistreats us, we oftentimes won’t translate what we know into how we think and how we act.  No, somehow what’s inside of our minds doesn’t transcend deep down into the innermost recesses of our hearts.  It’s as if there’s a locked bank vault door located somewhere half way between our minds and our hearts.

So, that’s how we act.  End of story.

There is a deep and profound psychological insight in Jesus’ teaching.  It is an insight—perhaps a hidden mystery—we oftentimes overlook as we busy ourselves justifying why we aren’t required to love our enemies, why we aren’t required to do good to those who hate us, why we aren’t required to bless those who curse us, and why we aren’t required to pray for those who have mistreated us.

Jesus’ insight reminds us that justice cannot heal the wounds caused by evil.  No, while justice may temporarily ease the pain of the hurt inflicted, justice does absolutely nothing to remove the wound causing the pain.  The only thing capable of healing that wound, Jesus teaches, is forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not mean that a person is not to be held accountable for one’s evil misdeeds.  Rather, forgiveness means that I am not going to allow another person’s evil misdeeds to engage me in a cycle of revenge where I compound one evil—a fundamental lack of love—with another evil.  Instead, forgiveness evidences on my part a determination not to allow what was inflicted upon to define my future or destroy my life.  In this way, the miracle of forgiveness heals the wound causing my pain and the power of evil is no longer able to possess me.  As the philosopher Hannah Arendt observed in her book, The Human Condition, forgiveness is the only miracle we mere mortals are capable of performing.

And yet, isn’t the common tendency when someone hates us, curses us, or mistreats us is to seek justice by avenging ourselves?  The crucial spiritual problem with this all too common tendency is that we are inviting evil to take greater possession of our hearts and, in turn, to goad us on as we unwittingly (or wittingly, for that matter) destroy our futures and our lives as well.

That is why Pope John Paul II went to visit with Mahmet Ali Agca in his prison cell on December 2, 1983.  The Pope wanted to teach not only that Jesus taught us to forgive one another but also to show us that the only way to defeat evil is by: loving your enemies; doing good to those who hate you; blessing those who curse you; praying for those who mistreat you; and, forgiving those who would assassinate you or, for that matter, crucify you on a tree.

Contrary to what we believe is a “natural impulse” when we are hated, cursed, or mistreated, we human beings are not “hot wired” to seek revenge.  No, God has given us the power of free will to make a conscious decision either to love or to hate and, by that freely-willed choice, to invite the power of God’s love—through the miracle of forgiveness—to heal our pain or to engage with evil on its own terms, where we surely will be the losers.

You don’t believe me?  Well, consider the following:

In her book (and the subsequent movie) Dead Men Walking, Sr. Helen Prejean tells the story of Vernon Harvey, a father who just couldn’t wait until the state executed his daughter’s killer.  Vernon’s grief and pain are understandable.  Not only his daughter but Vernon also were victims of an unconscionable, horrific evil.  At the same time, however, Vernon Harvey’s desire to avenge his daughter’s death became so overpowering, he told Sr. Helen, that “I could kill him right now with my bare hands.”

Vernon Harvey eventually received his wish and watched on as his daughter’s killer was electrocuted.  But, somewhere deep in his heart, even this didn’t satisfy Vernon Harvey.  Only an exact repetition of his daughter’s stabbing would slake his thirst for revenge, he later told friends.  Sadly, justice wasn’t able to fill the void created by the cancer of unforgiveness present in Vernon Harvey’s tortured heart.

As Vernon Harvey nurtured this evil—the evil of unforgiveness—and allowed it to fester and grow into a cancer that was emptying his heart of love, Vernon began to have recurring night-time dreams about his daughter’s killer.  Over time, Vernon also found himself fantasizing repeatedly in daydreams where he’d strap the killer into the electric chair, wire his jaw shut, and then, throw the switch.  Time and again, day after day, and week after week, Vernon would allow this dream to repeat in his mind.  The choice to avenge his daughter’s murder—even after seeing justice done—didn’t heal the cancer destroying Vernon Harvey’s heart.  In fact, what little life Vernon Harvey had left, he allowed to be devoured by the power of evil simply because Vernon Harvey would not forgive his daughter’s killer.  Vernon Harvey was capable of forgiveness—as all of us are—but he freely willed not to forgive.

While Vernon Harvey’s double tragedy—the murder of his daughter and the way he allowed that to destroy his life—is a rather dramatic example about how the desire for revenge can consume and destroy a person’s life, let’s not allow that example to overshadow the fact that we also participate in the same cycle when we allow evil to destroy our lives simply because we refuse to forgive those who hate us, curse us, or mistreat us.  For example:

·       when a best friend betrays a confidence and we get embarrassed and, then, plot how we will exact retribution;

·       when people—perhaps one’s children—don’t do what we want them to do (like choose a career or profession that would please us or marry the spouse of our preference), so we behave in ways that destroy the possibility of having a good relationship;

·       when the in-laws say something or do something we don’t appreciate and we turn birthday celebrations and holiday festivities into war zones or, dismiss them from our lives and homes by never inviting them over; or,

·       when a co-worker gets a raise or promotion we coveted and, in turn, we wish evil on that person or perpetrate it ourselves.
 

By choosing not to love these persons, we allow revenge to fester in our hearts until it becomes a cancer where unforgiveness motivates us to engage in behaviors that ultimately destroy those relationships which could fill our lives with joy.  Just think of all of the opportunities forsaken—birthday celebrations, holiday festivities, and Gemütlichkeit (Cheer!)­—where we’ve allowed unforgiveness to take hold of us and do rob us of life itself!

“Who’s the loser in this picture?” Jesus asks all of us.

And yet, the simple fact is that we do allow bitterness, jealousy, and hatred to grow into seeking revenge.  We deludes ourselves—remember that’s one of Satan’s titles, “The Deluder Satan”—into believing falsely that we are dutiful and good Christians.  All the while, however, our hearts become increasingly polluted by the evil of unforgiveness and, so too, our minds become increasingly polluted as we deceive ourselves into believing we are something we aren’t!

Unbeknownst to us, and just like Vernon Harvey, we invite the evil of revenge to become alive and active in our hearts.  Gradually, this evil transforms itself into an obsession.  Then, in turn, the obsession grows into a sadistic fantasy.  And, as that fantasy takes on its own life, what life we have left we allow the cancer of unforgiveness present in our hearts to devour.

Why do we do this?

The answer is simple: we are unwilling to forgive those who hate us, curse us, or mistreat us.  We aren’t “hot-wired” to be this way.  No, sadly, we freely choose to be this way.

Jesus teaches us otherwise and exposes our hypocrisy for what it is.  In the matter of revenge, Jesus teaches, we must pass beyond the desire for revenge—if we want to heal the cancer that unforgiveness introduces into our hearts—and model instead the life of forgiveness.  This is what God has “hot-wired” each and every one of us to be...people who enact the miracle of forgiveness.

The fullness of life we so much desire comes not from dreams and fantasies of getting even.  Neither does the fullness of life we so much desire come through obsessing over how to get even.  No, the fullness of life we so much desire only comes as we forgive those who hate us, curse us, or mistreat us.  Forgiveness is an “art” to be learned, according to Lewis Smedes, author of The  Art of Forgiving and Forgive and Forget.

As we breathe life into those evil situations where darkness and chaos would otherwise reign, this is how we treat others as God has treated us.  Remember the first creation story in the Book of Genesis?  Into the formless universal abyss of darkness and chaos, God breathed His Spirit.  This introduced light and order into that abyss.  As we breathe the miracle of forgiveness into the darkness and chaos that has been unleashed in our lives by those who hate us, curse us, or mistreat us, “the peace of God which is beyond all human understanding,” as St. Paul reminds us, will dwell in our hearts all of the days of our lives.

 

A brief commercial break...
 

Hurry up!  Lent starts this Wednesday, February 21st!

Each year, the people at Magnificat® produce a companion edition for the season of Lent.  Similar to a what older Catholics may remember as a "prayer book," the companion edition contains all sorts of prayers, readings, reflections, art, and activities for every member of the family to prepare each day of the season of Lent for the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning.

Grandparents might consider purchasing a copy for themselves and copies for each grandchild.  Confirmation sponsors might consider purchasing a copy for themselves as well as the person they have sponsored or are sponsoring in the faith.  Spouses might purchase a copy for themselves and use it for daily prayer during the season of Lent.  Parents might purchase a copy for the family and use it to lead prayer before dinner each evening.

At a price of $3 for 1-4 copies plus $1 shipping/handling, $2 for 5-9 copies plus $3 shipping/handling, and $1.10 for 10-49 copies (plus $5 shipping/handling), the companion edition makes a perfect and very affordable opportunity to prepare for the resurrection of Christ on Easter morning as well as an Lenten gift to spur family, friends, and colleagues toward greater spiritual growth during the holy season of Lent.

The companion edition has a limited press run that sells out each year.  Furthermore, orders are filled in the order received.  So, place your order early.

To place an order for the 2007 companion edition of Magnificat® for the season of Lent, call 1-970-416-6670 or email specialissue@intrepidgroup.com for ordering information.

 

 

 

mail2.gif (2917 bytes)      Does today’s homily raise any question(s) that you would like
                   me to respond to? Mail your question(s) by double clicking on
               
    the mailbox. I will respond to your question(s) at my first
                   available opportunity.


   Double click on this button to return to the homily
                                         webpage.