10/15/2023

The recent and ongoing conflict in the Holy Land prompts me to look a little more deeply at forgiveness and reconciliation, two
words that you probably won’t hear in the news reports about the conflict between HAMAS and the Israelis. In doing this I am not
trying to take sides, point fingers, or propose a political solution. But I do think that the Bible and in particular Jesus Christ has something to say about this and many other situations.
In the Bible there is a progression from 1) retaliation, 2) reparation, 3) forgiveness, 4) reconciliation. 1) Retaliation or retribution happens when revenge goes far beyond the damage done by the initiator of the conflict. This can escalate until one clan/tribe, nation or the other is wiped out. There are battles where whole clans get wiped out in disproportionate retaliation for a wrong done by members of one clan to another. I suspect that we are watching this in action by HAMAS and Israel right now. Someone commented that if we as humans did not get beyond retaliation, human history would have ended in Genesis, the first book! That is where the next step is necessary.
2) Reparation is the next step. Traditionally this is called the Lex Talonis (roughly translated the law of the claw), more commonly known by the phrase, “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” If you steal $1,000 from someone, you have to repay the $1,000; if you poke out someone’s eye, then you may have to forfeit your eye; if you kill someone unjustly, you may have to give up your own life in reparation. There is a balance which weighs wrong against wrong, a balance which represents justice. The positive development here is that punishment is limited to the damage done by one party to another, and limits the extent of retaliation one can hope to extract. The negative is that evil is weighed against evil, and seldom does this lead to reconciliation as both sides are damaged. Could there not be another way?
3) Forgiveness is the third step forward. It is what God does to his people when they repent, genuinely repent, of their sins. But it is not so easy for humans to do in practice. Look at the parable of the servant who owed a lot to his master, was pardoned, and then did not pardon a fellow servant who owed him much less. What was the problem? I think it was this: the master in the parable recognized the value of RELATIONSHIP OVER RULES, mercy over justice. The servant only did that when he was in debt, otherwise he was valuing money over relationship. That is the fundamental insight in Christ’s telling St. Peter to forgive 7 x 70 times, to love your enemies, to ask God for forgiveness “as we forgive those who trespass against us,” and ultimately to follow Jesus’ example when He says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” as He died on the cross. Jesus is emphasizing that it is their relationship which counts more than the degree of damage one does. We are social by nature, and the more we connect with others, the more we find meaning and value in life. In the Mystical Body of Christ, it is as though Jesus says, “All are invited: friend, foe, stranger, etc. Now, get along!” Forgiveness makes that possible.
4) Reconciliation follows from forgiveness. Forgiveness opens the door to reconciliation by making it possible to bond, to learn to love one another, appreciate one another, to live in harmony with one another. It removes the greatest obstacles to our connecting with one another in love. Ultimately in heaven we will be united in love, and those who prefer retaliation or reparation are preferring separation to connectedness. Separation or isolation is what Hell is like. Forgiveness paves the way to being connected. It is the lesson of the cross. The bad news is that this is not natural, not the way of the world. The good news is that we can choose to be connected, and God is there to help us if we do.
It is a joy to be your pastor.

Father Albert, O.S.B.