October 15, 2010
Year A: Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
On Forgiveness
I don’t know how many of you have been to Africa before, but I invite you to join me on a mental journey to that part of the world.
Imagine yourself as a little boy growing up in a small village in Rwanda (small country in eastern Africa south of Uganda). Imagine the beauty – the green vegetation of the rolling hills —banana plantations, fields of corn, coffee, cassavas, etc. Everything is green.
You are a Tutsi and your best friend Tony is Hutu (the two tribes in Rwanda). You speak the same language (Kinyarwanda). You go to the same village school. You play with that homemade soccer ball – you made from plastic bags and banana fiber. You steal the neighbor’s mangos together. You graze cows in the bush together. You laugh, you cry, you pick on each together.
You attend church and worship together – Hutu, Tutsi –you shake hands, you hug, you kiss, you feast together.
(Genocide/You survive)
One day, you wake up and the whole village, the whole country, is littered in blood. Bodies of little kids, pregnant mothers, old men — are lying all over the place hacked with machetes.
You are Tutsi and they are looking for you. Tony and all the other Hutu friends are matching house to house and finishing off Tutsis. Your mother, father, sisters are wiped out. You heard the scream, their groaning for mercy – but the was no mercy!
By God’s grace, you manage to survive hiding in a tiny bathroom for over 60 days. You live to watch the people who killed your mother, your two year old sister, your cousin.
This is what we call today, the 1994 Rwanda Genocide (which claimed 800,000 lives – 7.0m population). You may have seen a movie, Hotel Rwanda – is a good depiction of what happened. I recommend it.
(Jesus: “forgive seventy-seven times.”) Basically, he is saying; forgive as many times as it takes
(How Do You begin to Forgive. How does a nation begin to forgive?)
Your best friend, Your classmate, Your neighbor – All are killers. How do you begin to forgive? Do you take up arms and do vengeance? Do you kiss your enemy?
Sirach: “Forgive your neighbor’s injustice”
Healing Process – Gacaca trials (grass courts)
Something remarkable happened in this small country. To facilitate process of reconciliation and healing, they set up a community courts. Perpetrators and victims met face to face. Perpetrators confessed their guilt. They asked for forgiveness. Victims offered forgiveness. Perpetrators did community service.
It was a healing process but very very painful experience.
It was this forgiveness that helped Rwanda heal and forge a way forward creating peace and harmony.
Since then Rwanda has become one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
(USA and 9/11)
In our country, the memories of 9/11 are still vivid. Mothers, father, daughters, sons, and spouses perished. It was a true test of our spirit of forgiveness.
(Jesus: “forgive seventy-seven times”)
How do you begin to forgive?
(Murder of my father/family experience)
It can be easy to speak about distant events. Let me share with you a very personal story.
It was the night of Christmas Eve, 1998. I had just come back home after completing final exams for advanced high school. As always, all the kids come home for Christmas – lots of foods prepared. In my growing up days, Easter and Christmas were days when we could enjoy the luxury of beef and rice.
Christmas Eve is a shopping day. Dad goes to the trading center, sends the goodies home. He hangs around with friends for a drink. At about 8 O’clock as he riding his bicycle back home, he is ambushed, beaten and left unconscious.
Some good Samaritans finds him lying on the side of the road. He is rushed to the village clinic. They put him on drips. The nurse thinks – he is unconscious and after few hours he will regain consciousness.
Morning comes and no sign of consciousness. They panic. Find a car and take him to nearest hospital in town – 40 kms away. The doctors scan him and they find a four inch nail in his head. Because, it had not left an opening, all the blood went into the brains. It was too late. He was gone. Christmas Day!!
(Jesus: “forgive seventy-seven times”)
That was a moment it hit home. It was the ultimate test for my family and I of how far it can go before u can forgive.
There were some suspects. But pursuing the case would not bring back our father.
We decided to forgive and move on.
Today, I look back at this moment in my life and I thank God for the grace he gave me to forgive. If I couldn’t do that, I would be heavy with rage because I feel sad that my father can’t not be around to witness critical moments in my life or to enjoy the fruits of his labor –for all he sacrificed to me an education and prepare me for life.
Every day, even for several times a day, for some of us, we say the Our Father. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
At every Mass we start with the penitential rite –recognizing our sinfulness and need for forgiveness.
How much attention do we pay to this clause? Do we forgive and pray for those who offend us?
Christ gave us the Sacrament of reconciliation. It is an opportunity for us to be forgiven of our sins, healed, and restored to grace. As God forgives us, so we need to forgive others.
As priests, we represent Christ in the confessional and be a medium of this grace. “I absolve you from your sins. Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.” – Yes, we speak on behalf of Christ, but have we cultivated a genuine spirit of forgiveness or we simply play-act?
(Ask for grace to forgive – Forgiveness brings harmony and peace)
How are we ready to forgive? Do we have the humility to recognize our offenses and ask for forgiveness?
Christ died for our sins. God forgives and loves no matter how much we sin. Do we want to be like the servant who could not forgive his fellow servant after being forgiven by the master?
In forgiveness, we find joy; we find peace; we find harmony; — just like the people of Rwanda found solace and reconciliation through forgiveness.