Matthew 6:14-15 (New International Version)
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against
you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive
others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Writer Norman Cousins said that life is an adventure in
forgiveness. I think Fr. Lawrence Martin Jenco would agree.
In 1984, Fr. Jenco traveled to Beirut, dedicated to help
the poorest of the poor. On January 8, 1985, he was kidnapped by Shiite Muslim
extremists and held hostage for 564 days. He endured imprisonment, beatings,
illness and heartbreaking periods of sorrow and loneliness. Several years after
his release, he wrote a book (BOUND TO FORGIVE, Ave Maria Press, 1995) about
his experiences in captivity and, more importantly, about the power of love and
forgiveness.
Fr. Jenco tells about being taped like a mummy from his
ankles to the top of his head each time he was transported from one place to
another. He described being forced to breathe only from his nose as his mouth
was stuffed with a cloth and taped shut.
He tells of times when his captors said they were going
to kill him and he waited for the bullet to go through his head. Other times he
was dressed up and told he was going home, only to have his spirits dashed when
he was later informed they were just kidding.
He remembers being chained hand and foot, donning a
plastic bag on his head, and left in a two-foot by six-foot closet. And he
remembers his stench when he was denied washing for over four months.
He was later asked what lesson those of us who haven't
been in such a position can learn from his experience and apply to our daily
living. He said, "Just look at the madness that goes on in the world
today. We lug our hates and our bigotry and prejudices from generation to
generation and we pass [them] on.... We [must] stop and look at each other and
say, 'I am so sorry for the hurt I caused you. I ask your forgiveness.' And
then [we must] extend forgiveness and...receive forgiveness. Somewhere along
the line we are going to have to do that. We're all bound to forgive."
Fr. Jenco has forgiven and can attest to the power of
forgiveness. And though our hurt may not be the same as his, it is no less
real. We, too, are "bound" to forgive. For when we covenant with life
to earnestly forgive whatever hurts come our way, we see amazing results. We
find inner peace and, often, improved physical health as well. As Dr. O. A.
Battista says, "One of the most lasting pleasures you can experience is
the feeling that comes over you when you genuinely forgive an enemy -- whether
he knows it or not."
Genuine forgiveness is crucial if we are to be at peace.
Whether or not it restores a broken relationship, it sets our own hearts free.
Those who will be bound by the promise to sincerely forgive, will be freed from
the bonds of the past. Bound by love, they are bound...to be happy.
Dear Lord we pray that we would be forgiving. Help us not
hold grudges with those around us. We pray that we would show Your love in the way
we respond to those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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