DAILY- HOMILY

The gospel reading offers us the core of Jesus' teaching. In short sentences, he presents the essence of Christian life, which is love of enemy, doing the extra thing, forgiving as an act of love. It sounds great and it is great. And it would be much greater if all Christians lived out this positive Christian ethic. The world would change dramatically. That the world is what it is now, only shows that over the past two thousand years not enough Christians have lived out the ideal that Jesus presents in today's gospel reading. It is a teaching that makes many exclaim: "Impossible! Absurd!"

Some time ago, a man told me: "A long time ago, my neighbor offended me so much that we did not talk to each other for years. But after listening to a homily about love of enemy and forgiveness, I realized that it is my Christian duty and obligation to forgive and to show my love. I offered him forgiveness, and I must say, I felt so good afterwards."

I asked him how his neighbor reacted. "Oh, he seemed to be ashamed when I shook his hand. Maybe, he felt a bit bad because I was so generous."

This incident made me aware that even when we forgive, we can still make mistakes. Love and forgiveness should never be a duty or an obligation. If love and forgiveness do not come spontaneously from the heart, it is not genuine and could do more harm than good.

Love and forgiveness should never make you feel big-hearted in contrast to the other who is a sinner. When Jesus forgives, and he does it constantly, he does not forgive to feel big-hearted. He does not make us feel miserable because we are sinners. When Jesus forgives, he shows that he believes in us. He forgives so that we are not destroyed by self-hatred or discouragement. He helps us to discover our self-worth. For in spite of our sins, we carry in us the dignity of God's children. In other words, when God forgives, it does not so much make God look good but makes us look good again.

Forgiveness is a kind of loving. It is not considered as fulfilling a duty. This act does not come as easily as it comes to God easily, for God is love. But remembering the love of God we experience day after day, his countless acts of forgiveness, his always doing the extra thing for us, can and should lead us into an act of imitation. I forgive because God does so. I forgive that person because God has forgiven him already. That should make it easy for us to forgive.