Taking the Time to Make a Difference

They are not exactly parting words, or the last words. But the words at the end of some e-mail messages continue to linger long after the computer screen has faded from sight. You may have seen some of them. Following the text of an e-mail message, many people put in some address information and maybe a phone number. Then, at the very end, there is often a quotation or an adage or something the sender uses to let the reader-receiver know: “This is something important to me.” I received an e-mail the other day from Stephen Gretzinger at the Upper Peninsula Catholic Newspaper for the Diocese of Marquette in Michigan. I have printed out that e-mail message, and a copy of it has been on my desk where I can see it and reflect on it. It is sort of a micro-mini Lenten homily: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” The quotation is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.

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The counsel given in the sixth chapter of Luke’s Gospel comes easily to mind. Jesus said “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.” As hard as it is to have such an attitude, it is even harder for me – maybe for you, too – to read what Jesus said just before these more famous lines. He said, “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.” It is human to want to be well-liked. It is not what Jesus calls us to be. In fact, he says, “Woe to you when all speak well of you.” Judging from some recent phone calls, I don’t have to worry about such a failing.

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Take the time to reflect on what it means to have the strength to forgive another. It is not a popular virtue among columnists and talk show hosts. It is a most difficult achievement for a society where lawbreakers are sent for “correction” but seldom forgiven. Take the time to reflect on the Gospel advice, and to accept the challenge to speak the truth when you know it will be ridiculed. The call of the true prophet was never to be accepted by all. Confrontation does not make a person well-liked. Moses did not try to work with Pharaoh for shorter working hours. He insisted that in justice, Pharaoh should “let my people go!”

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Another of my favorite “last words” in an e-mail message is the last line of messages sent from the office of the Christian Family Movement. It is a quotation from the Letter of St. James, chapter one: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Forgiving another is not passive. It requires action. Whether the area of concern is a phone call or a crime, a family feud or a loved one’s failing, forgiveness is not acceptance. Forgiveness is not mere tolerance. But it is respect for the human dignity of another. Forgiveness — as the true prophet, Jeremiah said — is an attribute of the Lord, who has placed his law within us, who has written his law in our hearts, and who promises that all, from least to greatest, shall know him, for he will forgive our evildoing and remember our sin no more.

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