Vince Prantil - March 7

Week 3  Matthew 5:43-48

Saturday, March 7, 2015

A Reflection on Forgiveness from Vince Prantil

During one of Gandhi’s hunger strikes he was approached by a Hindu fighting the Muslims. He  said, “I’m going to hell. I killed a Muslim boy.” Gandhi said, “I know a way out of hell … find a boy whose parents were killed and raise him as your own . . .  BUT make sure he is a Muslim and you raise him as one.” Ask yourselves this: Why do we often dislike our enemies? Because they are “different from us”? Our humanness can let “differences” fester into animosity. Our culture pits old vs. young, white vs. black, straight vs. gay, male vs. female. There is wisdom in all genders, ages, races, and sexual orientations. Why is it hard to admit we’re richer for the differences? Those differences can be platforms for learning and tolerance and open-mindedness. I think Gandhi was right when he said, “The only devils in the world are those running around in our own hearts. And that is where all our battles should be fought.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. said “There’s some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.” Gandhi is echoing Matthew when he says, “It is the weak who cannot forgive … forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Whatever differences we have, we are stronger for them, not weaker. When we label someone as our enemy, we too often fail to see what we may have in common with them. In raising a small Muslim boy, we may learn we are not as different as we thought. When Luke Skywalker is trained by Yoda to be a Jedi Knight, he confronts Darth Vader and beheads him with his light saber. The ominous helmet falls to the ground, unmasking the face of Luke inside. What we see in our enemies too often lives within our own selves. Often we fail to recognize it. The only devils running around “out there” are also “in here.” Matthew says, “Don’t even tax collectors pull out their light sabers?” We can do better. We’re all children of the same Father who wants us to stop fighting and start forgiving.

Father, let us be wise enough to recognize ourselves in others, open enough to admit that our differences strengthen us, and strong enough to forgive when it’s the right thing to do.  Amen.