March 2/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
“Two wrongs don’t make a right!” I can still hear the taunting tones in which one of my sisters would hurl this phrase at me – or I at them – as we sought to even the score in some utterly inconsequential squabble. Indeed, “to understand the human thirst for revenge,” as a witty researcher noted, “it is only necessary to have had a sibling.” Forgiveness is hard; we are wired to distrust those who hurt us, to strike back. Nursing a grudge, we retreat into righteous indignation; withholding our forgiveness, we seek to reclaim power in the relationship. But whether uttered as a taunt or not, the aphorism holds: getting even doesn’t contribute to the sum of good in the world. As Father Jacques Philippe, a French priest and spiritual director, wrote, “When we refuse to forgive someone for harm done to us . . . we are increasing the quantity of evil in the world, which has quite enough as it is. Let us not join in the propagation of evil.” Our psalmist makes it crystal clear that we are called to forgive, wholeheartedly, as God does. There can be no better example of this than today’s Gospel of the prodigal son. The wronged father could have turned his back on his returning child. Instead, absorbing the hurt he has suffered, he opens his arms to embrace the wayward boy with a love that can only be called extravagant. 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/030224.cfm
To hear “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” sung by the congregation of St. Mark’s, Maida Vale, London (tragically destroyed by fire in 2023), click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJwfT3SY_PU
