Forgiveness, Part II

A couple of years ago I was working at a diocesan summer youth camp where we were spending the week exploring the sacraments. When the day came to talk about the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), we opened the chapel that afternoon for those desiring to make a confession. Making a confession is a wonderful experience, but I will not lie - the first time it is nerve wracking. You are nervous. You aren't sure what to say and how to say it. You worry the person in the stole will be judgmental or will tell or will treat you different later in the day after knowing your deep dark secrets (we won't!!). I didn't expect many (or really any) to take us up on our offer to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. But one youth did. Nervous and unsure the person came and I shared how the rite "works." We began. The person shared sins that are common to all of us - although I would bet that person was convinced they were the only one to commit those particular transgressions. I pronounced God's forgiveness, smiled and took off my stole. "That's it?" the person asked. "That's it," I said. I saw a smile.

Sometimes I do think it is hard for us to accept the fact that God, in spite of our sins and our constant return to those sins, forgives us. I think it's sometimes hard for us to accept this because human beings have a difficult time forgiving each other. If we have a hard time forgiving others and others have a hard time forgiving us, then we never really know true forgiveness!

The Rembrandt painting from the last post was of the return of the prodigal son. Jesus' parable is a beautiful window into God's love and God's lavish (and in the eye's of the older brother - rash) forgiveness. Not one of us is innocent. We have all rebelled and we continue to rebel. We fall and we get up. We fall again and we get up again. The sins we've committed that we are sure are unique to us are common to all people. And despite of all of this - because of all of this - God's love never lets us go.

How wonderful would it be for the people of God to model God's forgiveness? How wonderful would it be for God's people to be agents of reconciliation? How wonderful it will be for the lonely and wandering to come to know that God does love us all - all of us. There's nothing we can do to earn it. There's nothing we can do to deserve it.

God loves us. That's it? That's it.

Fr. Steve+