CAN WE RECEIVE THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD?

Forgiveness Sunday

Fr Luke A Veronis

* The priest tries to pour a pitcher of water into a little container

* Then he tries to pour a pitcher of water into a larger container

*Then he tries to pour a pitcher of water into a large basin

The pitcher of water is the same; yet each container receives the water differently. How much each container is filled doesn’t depend on the water being poured, but on the way the container receives the water!

I want to use this example and relate it to God’s amazing grace and mercy. We call God the All -Merciful One. His forgiveness is unlimited. His love is boundless and unconditional. His grace is unfathomable and amazing.

Yet, if God is so loving and forgiving, how can we hear in today’s Gospel reading: "If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Does this mean that God’s love and mercy is transactional. He forgives us only IF we forgive others? Absolutely not. God’s love and mercy and grace are never transactional; they are relationship. God loves us so dearly, He freely offers His divine love, mercy, grace and forgiveness to us and to everyone.

Of course, His forgiveness is not like a tiny pitcher of water being poured into our hearts, but it is like the immense ocean of love being poured into our hearts. God’s love and mercy, His desire to forgive us of all our sins and debts is boundless. Let us understand what that means. It has no limits!

Jesus dying on the cross reveals His extreme love, taking upon Himself the sins of the entire world throughout history. And for whom did Jesus die on the Cross? He died on the Cross and took the sins of the world upon Himself when this very world was rejecting him, betraying Him, denying Him, slandering Him, ridiculing Him, and then torturing and killing Him. He died for sinful and fallen humanity.

Yet, it didn’t matter what the world was doing to Him. That couldn’t change God’s love for the world. Jesus still loved the world so much that He voluntarily accepted to die on the Cross to become the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sins of the world! This means He has taken upon Himself our sins also, no matter how many and how terrible.

Thus, the question isn’t about God’s forgiveness and mercy and whether He forgives us. He does! The bigger question is how open are we to receive His forgiveness and mercy. How prepared are we to receive His forgiveness and grace?

In the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “Forgive us our trespasses (or debts) as we forgive those who trespasses against us.” This is NOT a transaction with God. We’re not saying, “Lord, if we forgive others what they’ve done to us, then you have to forgive us whatever we’ve done. NO! It’s not “if we don’t forgive others, you won’t forgive us.” That is not theologically correct!

Through the Cross, God has forgiven the world. He has forgiven us. Nothing can take that forgiveness away. The question, however, is whether we are open to receive the forgiveness and mercy of God. Are we a vessel that can humbly receive God’s mercy and grace?

Is God offering His mercy to us and we are closing our hearts to receive His mercy? That is what happens when we don’t forgive others. When we allow resentment and bitterness to remain in our hearts. We close our hearts to God’s love. We can’t receive His love.

Are our hearts like that tiny container that can’t receive much of God’s mercy and grace? Or are our hearts like this middle container, that may be able to receive a little more of God’s mercy? Or will we open our hearts to its fullest, ready to be overwhelmed with God’s mercy and grace in abundance?

Well, we will know how big and open our heart is to receive God’s love by the way we see how big and open our heart is to forgive one another. Think of the person who has most hurt you in your life. Think of someone who has done something to you and you are tempted to hold on to resentment and bitterness. Is there someone who you struggle to forgive?

Today on Forgiveness Sunday, as we prepare to begin our 40 Day Great Lenten journey toward Holy Week and Pascha, the Church reminds us that our journey begins with a sober and careful self-evaluation on whether we are willing to forgive one another, and thus, ready to receive the forgiveness of God.

Forgiving someone who has hurt us is not easy. Forgiving someone who is not sorry for what they did to us is quite difficult. Yet, always remember – we forgive others because God has first forgiven us. It all starts with God and His mercy and love. Not us! And when we have difficulty forgiving another, that is when we need to turn toward God all the more and allow His mercy and grace to overwhelm us. We need to allow His love to empower us so that we simply pass on His mercy and forgiveness to the other.

The Church reminds us of this most important lesson today on Forgiveness Sunday, especially as we end our service today by creating a circle where all of us will ask one another for forgiveness.

Great Lent is a time of self-discovery as well as a time to truly understand and encounter the divine love of God in a new way. May we all open up our hearts this Lenten season to receive the grace of God in abundance!