Daily Reflections - March 22,2013

TRUSTING IN THE LORD ALONE

 

It seems part of our human condition to automatically seek revenge against those who have wronged us. This should not be the case, but sin has somehow perverted the way we relate with one another such that we assume the worst of each other and also seek to get back at those who harm us. The biblical witness is that we should leave any sense of revenge, often spoken of in terms of vengeance, to the Lord. That is, the authors of the various Scriptural texts were well aware of the tendency of human nature to take matters of vengeance into their own hands.

Jeremiah is a prophet who suffered a lot at the hands of the authorities. In this he was prescient, indicating this as one reason for his not wanting to take up the calling of a prophet. Yet, he obeyed God’s call, and suffering was never far from him. Jeremiah clearly would like to take revenge upon some, if not all, of his adversaries but he specifically states here that he is going to leave that matter in the Lord’s hands. He also refuses to give in to the power of his adversaries, believing firmly that the Lord will eventually cause the poor and powerless to triumph.

Jeremiah’s example is a very important one to reflect on, given how easy it is to take revenge on someone for what they have done to us. The thing with revenge is that it never solves any problems. It just exacerbates them by adding wrong to wrong and violence to violence. It is easy to see how this sort of response will result in a never-ending cycle of wrongs.

It is the example of Jesus’ life that shows us the way out of the problem. The only way to cut the cycle of violence is to forgive and move on. Resentment, revenge, ill will and so on will never come to an end. It is only forgiveness that ends it all. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you tend to either seek revenge or minister forgiveness to those who sin against you? How can you grow in your capacity for the latter?

 

Holy Spirit, teach me the noble path of forgiveness and help me to be an ambassador for it every day of my life.