The Easter message is that we are forgiven, and that we are to forgive one another,

Throughout the centuries, Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness has been difficult for Christians to live out.   And yet each and everyday day we pray in the Lord’s Prayer:   “Forgive us our trepasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

We honestly need to ask ourselves:  When you struggle to forgive, what holds you back?”  Are we free to forgive, and if not, why not?  I in my head I forgive everyone on the face of the earth easily.  This is the command of the Lord.  But when my ego has been damaged by a cutting remark from a someone, I too easily get derailed and can stew over a hurt for too long.  Forgiveness then becomes more of a challenge.  Then I have to let go of my own ego and the need to strike back, and open myself up to what God is offering me -- the beautiful, beautiful gift of forgiveness.

Many of us left to our own devices have difficulty forgiving those who have hurt us.  Thus, we need to rely on the grace of God to help us forgive as we ourselves have been forgiven.

Forgiveness is a major theme in Luke’s account of Jesus’ passion.    As Luke reflects on Jesus’ death, he discerns a call for human acceptance of divine mercy.  Jesus forgives the repentant thief on the cross.  Jesus even forgives those who crucify him.

In Luke’s mind, asking for forgiveness is essential to the Christian life; calling others to do the same is crucial to evangelization.  The light of the resurrection frees us from death’s shadow.  Our message is credible only when our words and example reveal that we are truly free to give to others the gift that God first gave us.

A powerful example of the extraordinary grace of forgiveness can be seen in the life of Nelson Mandela -- the first black elected president of South Africa back in 1994.  Before being elected President, Nelson was sentenced to life imprisonment for speaking against segregation and the apartheid policy in South Africa.  He was sentenced to prison for conspiring to overthrow the South African government.

When Nelson Mandela arrived on Robben Island at dawn on a frigid, rainy morning in July, 1964, it fast became clear to the African prison officials that he commanded great respect among the inmates, that he was a natural leader. As a consequence, they singled him out for punishment and humiliation.

Mr. Mandela was released from prison 27 years later and won the respect and love of his people so much that he was elected president. An aide asked Mr. Mandela to provide a list of people he wished to invite to his inauguration dinner as president of South Africa. The great figures of the liberation struggle would be there, of course, but the sole name on which Mr. Mandela is said to have insisted was that of a prison guard that had humiliated him while in prison.

Mr. Mandela lived an extraordinary life, but he will be remembered for one quality above all others: his capacity to forgive, and to turn that forgiveness into a visible reconciliation. He had a phenomenal, grace-filled ability to rise above bitterness and rancour, and clearly had made a conscious decision that forgiveness was the Gospel path for the liberation of black Africans.

 Not only did it redouble international fascination with him, but even more important, all South Africans began to be credited with the same miraculous capacity for forgiveness.

It is to the heart of the Gospel message that the forgiveness God offers is ours for the asking.  Thanks be to God.  It is also to the heart of the Gospel that we need to give to others what has been given to us.  We are to forgive one another.

Pope Francis in his recently released apostolic exhortation Gaudete and Exsultate says:  “The yardstick we use for understanding and forgiving others will measure the forgiveness we receive.  The yardstick we use for giving will measure what we receive.”

In today’s Gospel, we are to witness and to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  We need to recognize and confess our own sinfulness.  Yes, we are sinners.  In the Penitential Rite of the Mass and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we confess and repent of our sinfulness and ask for the forgiveness of God.

The Easter message is that we are forgiven and we are to forgive.   The repentance we seek is the recognition that we need to die to the demons and the sinfulness of our live so we can more fully share in the life of the Risen Lord.  What demon do your need to die to, and to what demon do I need to die to so that I and we can witness and preach the Lord’s message of forgiveness.

We have gathered to celebrate the presence of the Risen Lord among us. We are called to be the people who bear witness to his victory over death. We are the people who proclaim the Father’s forgiveness to the ends of the earth by being people who are forgiving.

The place to seek for peace and a forgiving heart is at the center of our own lives, then in our immediate personal world, then in the world that touches our lives, and then beyond. May we follow the example of Nelson Mandela who had been unjustly imprisoned and beaten for 27 years.  He was a beautiful example of all the citizens of South Africa of the Gospel quality of forgiveness by inviting his prison guard to his inauguration celebration as president.  Please God we need more government leaders who value the Christ-like quality of forgiveness.  As we seek peace in our hearts and in our world, may we proclaim the Easter message that we are forgiven and we are to forgive.  As you discern the Easter grace of forgiveness, who in your life do you need to forgive as your way of paying forward the forgiveness that the Lord showers upon you?

Have a blessed day.