In social media sometimes we read posts that wish bad things happening to others. For example we read about differences in political views and affiliations. Those on one side show intense bitterness and hatred against those on the other side. But how would a Christian behave in such situations? We were taught love and forgiveness.
To forgive is in the teaching of Jesus. In the Our Father Jesus also teaches that "if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions (Mt 6/14-15). Jesus insists here on the importance of forgiveness. Now we can think of the story of the unforgiving servant in Mt 18. The parable is given in the context of Peter's question regarding forgiveness "seven times". In the parable the master forgives first. The forgiveness comes first. The servant's unforgiving of another comes next.
The parable is saying that when one is forgiven the result is that the forgiveness is transmitted to others. God forgives so we know how to forgive. Our forgiveness is a result of our being forgiven. If we refuse to forgive we then do not accept the forgiveness done to us; we do not live up to the fruits of the forgiveness done to us. This thus explains what Jesus means when he says "if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions". The image of the Father not forgiving is, in reality, the refusal of the forgiven to accept the forgiveness of the Father. This refusal has its consequence in relationship with others. One remains stubborn and one treats others harshly. Why will the Father like that?
Jesus also teaches about love of enemies. This is a tough lesson to accept. How can we love enemies? How can we love those who have caused us so much suffering? Jesus in fact tells us to love our enemies and "do good to those who hate you (Lk6/27)". What? Do we do good to those who have done us so much injustice? Do we not have bitterness towards them? How can we love them and even do good to them? Is Jesus crazy in his teaching?
Love comes from a loving heart. One loves because the other person has the dignity of being loved, no matter who he or she is, no matter what he or she has done. Love desires the good of others, including enemies. This is because each and every single person has human dignity and is image of God. By the fact of being existent, each person is worthy of love, especially of God's love. So loving an enemy is not narrowly about feeling affection for that person; it is about recognizing the human dignity proper to that person. Hence we never wish bad things for an other person, no matter who he or she is, not matter what he or she has done. We do good to those we hate by keeping them away from their refusal to live up according to the dignity God has given them. This is part of our Christian vocation in the world.
The Christian does not promote hatred and discrimination. The Christian does not promote wishing bad things to happen to anyone. The Social Doctrine of the Church has emphasized the central place of human dignity. The Christian is always guided by this dignity.
Love, in the teaching of Jesus, involves our being open to others. We never close the door to the dignity of others. Refusing to forgive is thus refusing to love. Why? This is because the refusal to forgive is a closing of the door. It is a way of saying that the other person ceases to share a future with us. Our dignity is no longer something we share. We are no longer on equal terms. This is a refusal of the dignity that God has given to each person.
If we are guided by love then we always wish the good of others, even those we hate. This is why we can talk of "forgiveness". In forgiveness we never give up the hope in and the respect for the dignity of others.
In practical terms we oppose the injustice that someone else will do, in love we protect that person from doing the injustice! We struggle to make sure that the person is disabled from doing injustice. Note that we wish the good of the other person--we wish that the other person step away from the evil of injustice. We wish that the person exercises justice. We wish that the person stays faithful to the dignity God has given him or her. This is why we forgive not just seven times but seventy times seventy times--that is, we forgive infinitely. We remain faithful to the dignity that God has given to each and every single human person.
Love hopes to protect others from doing bad things. This too is forgiveness. This is a way of recognizing and respecting the dignity proper to others. Because of their dignity and because they are image of God they must be re-located from injustice to justice, from violence to peace, from hatred to love itself. The bad things that others might be doing only harm them. The bad things destroy them. Our struggle for justice does not involve wishing bad things to happen to the unjust. It involves restoring the goodness that the dignified person is really capable of doing.
God loved us first. God has forgiven us first. Hence the fruit of what God has done to us is for us to transmit love and forgiveness in our relationships. We would like to have love and forgiveness bloom in our actions even if we find it impossible to delete the pains others have done to us.
Jesus taught that we be "perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt5/48)". The perfection of the heavenly Father is something we can always do. The Father loves, the Father forgives, we can do the same. Christian vocation is thus not about doing things we can never do. We have been given guidelines by Jesus and we can do them as best as we can.
