Appeared in The Catholic Virginian January 10, 2000

Forgiveness

As we begin Jubilee 2000, I want to wish everyone a blessed New Year, a blessed new century, a blessed new millennium and a blessed Holy Year. Here we are at the dawn of a new millennium which, in the words of Pope John Paul II, began as "a springtime of hope". To say the least, this is certainly an interesting time to be alive. In a sense, we are at a crossroads in history. We have much to be grateful for, but also much to reflect upon. With all its advances in science and technology, this past century has been the bloodiest in all of history. With all our knowledge and expertise, we have not yet learned to live together as a human family. As our world gets smaller and smaller thanks to television and instant communication, we hear more and more about globalization. What happens in one part of the globe affects all of us in one way or another.

Hence, concern for the welfare of each other, working for the common good of all, has become the imperative for mutual survival. While we rejoice in nationalism, we are increasingly aware of internationalism. I was intrigued watching TV on New Years Eve to see cities around the world, each in its own way, yet all celebrating the new millennium with such enthusiasm and joy. For all of us, the new millennium, the year 2000, gives reason for celebration and jubilation.

We need to be aware that the origin of the word jubilation comes from the Hebrew jube that refers to the sounding of the shofar, or the ram's horn, calling a people to repentance. If there is ever to be true and lasting peace with justice, we must begin by recognizing our many failures as individuals as well as within our families, our communities, our nation and our world community. This awareness is critical if we are truly to be the People of God as God intended us to be. As we repent for our own wrong doings and sinfulness, we have the courage to ask forgiveness for whatever harm we have caused others either knowingly or unknowingly.

Forgiveness is at the heart of jubilee. Forgiveness is seen as a way of being in the world. In the book of Leviticus, Chapter 25, verse 28, we find a radical form of Jubilee forgiveness. If someone had been forced to give up land because of debt, that person is forgiven, released from those debts and has the land returned in the Jubilee year. Jesus has taken forgiveness even a step further by telling his followers that they are to forgive 70 times 7 times. Then, in his prayer he teaches, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." It was Jesus who set for us the ultimate example from the cross when he cried out, "Father, forgive them, because they know not what they are doing."
Forgiveness begins with ourselves. To create a Jubilee world, we must forgive ourselves as we recognize and acknowledge our own wrongdoing, which in turn leads to repentance. Pope John Paul II has stated that just as every sin has its repercussion on the whole human family, so every act of forgiveness has a similar repercussion on the whole human family. Perhaps the hardest act of forgiveness is found within the family where hurts are known to fester for years and, without forgiveness, reconciliation never takes place. Violence has become a cliche in today's culture because of the absence of forgiveness. When we forgive, instead of rendering evil for evil, we create the possibility of an end to violence. As Jubilee people, we are called both to grant forgiveness and to request and receive it. By forgiving those who harm us in one way or another, even if the person does not seek forgiveness, we are made free rather than being bound up with holding onto resentment or a grudge for years and years.

Forgiveness of debt becomes crucially important in the Jubilee Year, especially as we think about Third World Debt where whole nations are condemned to poverty and servitude. Our Church, and most especially Pope John Paul II, has called for the elimination of debt to so-called developing nations. The citizens of those countries were not responsible for high debts incurred by dictators who purchased weapons of various kinds from First World Nations. Our own country for decades has been the largest participant in the arms trade. Poorer nations can hardly pay the interest on such debt. Most likely, the interest alone has come to an amount greater then the debt itself. Thankfully, our own country now seems willing to take the lead in this Jubilee Year to forgive substantially the debt owed by poorer nations. I have heard people expressing reluctance about our country forgiving debts owed to us, as if the people of the indebted nation itself had any say in the incurring of debt in the first place. It occurred to me that debt forgiveness has become practically a way of life in our own country when I read that over a million companies have filed for bankruptcy protection because of unpaid indebtedness.

During this Jubilee Holy Year, we might acknowledge unforgiven hurts that we have suffered or the pain and alienation that we have caused others and which still remain unresolved. True forgiveness, either given or received, leads to healing and reconciliation. How necessary healing truly is among races, ethnic groups, cultures and religions if true peace is to be achieved. While the Christmas spirit remains, let us be mindful that God's self-gift to us of Jesus, his only begotten Son, was given for all people of the world family. Peace is Jesus' farewell gift to us, a peace that recognizes the dignity and sacredness of every person.

Let us be filled with hope, as in the springtime, while we wish one another a blessed, happy New Year.