Forgiveness. It is the inner meaning of Sunday’s Mass.

Our culture has some pretty diverse understandings of what forgiveness means. For some it is an condescending act performed only by one person who is higher than the other—a King or Queen, who leans down to grant pardon.

For others it means “I forgive the one who hurt me but I can never forget.” Under such an attitude, one will remain angry forever but will never act upon it.

Which leads to another possible meaning, that a person might choke back their hurt and anger by a sheer act of the will. They may have been savaged by someone, but will choke down their reaction.

So what is the real basis of forgiveness? On Easter Sunday of 1960, that great seer and lover of God, Dag Hammarskjöld, wrote an interpretation that moved me:

Forgiveness breaks the chain of causality because he who ‘forgives’ you—out of love—takes upon himself the consequences of what you have done. Forgiveness, therefore, always entails a sacrifice.
The price you must pay for your own liberation through another’s sacrifice is that you in turn must be willing to liberate in the same way, irrespective of the consequences to yourself.*

So much to think about in these brief words.

The First Reading, from the Book of Sirach, tells how hateful wrath and anger are, how the sinner “hugs them tight,” a wonderful image. To let them go and forgive is such a good idea, but we wonder why it is the right one. Maybe one needs to be angry.

The Psalm Psalm speaks beautifully about God’s forgiving love: God is kind and merciful, slow to anger and rich in compassion. And the Second Reading says we ought to live not for ourselves but for others. We should imitate God. But again, how?

The Gospel illustrates what forgiveness means. Please read the story by pressing on the word Gospel there is not space here to repeat the tale of the ungrateful servant.

Underneath this question is the answer we are looking for. The real motivation for forgiveness is gratitude, loving gratitude. If someone has had pity on me out of love, then my authentic reaction will be deep appreciation. I will want to give to someone else the liberation I have received, especially if that person has hurt me. I will want to pass the gift on.

God has loved us so kindly; can we feel grateful? Can we halt the cycle of retribution and pass along love instead of hate?

As you and I receive Christ’s presence this Sunday, let us sense his forgiving love signified so deeply in the sacraments. Let us allow our gratitude to flow out and become the same forgiving love toward others.