Friday, First week in Lent - March 3, 2023
The WORD in LENT: Ezekiel 18: 21-28; Matthew 5: 20-26
Peace is reconciliation, we said right at the beginning of our lenten reflections! Today there is a prerequisite of that: peace is forgiveness. How can we think of reconciliation without forgiveness? The Word today presents to us this fact, from two complementary perspectives - one, that there can be peace only where there is forgiveness; and second, that the model of forgiveness is none other than God, our merciful Father and Mother.
Jesus in the Gospel explicates the fact that it is not enough to refrain from killing, instead a disciple of Christ has to refrain from anything that hurts - even a simple word that would hurt the other. But what if someone hurts me? Jesus says, forgive! This is an easy way to peace: do not hurt, and forgive those who hurt you! But one may protest: it appears to be such a weak character to refrain from hurting but readily forgiving those who hurt me! Before considering that protest, objectively think to yourself - will it not lead to peace when I don't hurt and forgive those who hurt? Now coming to the objection, Jesus says, "forgive because you are forgiven."
That is infact the second perspective and we see that amply represented in the first reading by Ezekiel. As a prefigurement of the theology of mercy that would be later preached by Jesus, Ezekiel speaks of a God who wishes that we live rather than die, that we change and become good rather than be condemned, that we have always a chance to restart or begin again rather than being damned to destruction by destiny or fate! God who forgives us endlessly, in a way demands that we grow more and more forgiving towards others. That is a sure way to peace, because peace is forgiveness.