February 21-22, 2009
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 43:18-25 Second Corinthians 1:18-22 Mark 2:1-12
There has been a flurry of supposedly pretty smart folk who have apparently erred with their income taxes or other financial improprieties. These ‘slip-ups’ have come to light because these same folk are being invited to assume important government positions. How very embarrassing it must be to suddenly have the world know that you tried to short-change the very government for which you are endeavoring to work! Does it strike anyone else as being downright stupid that people, who will probably always be in the public eye, slip up on something as mundane as income taxes? And yet….there but for the grace of God might go any of us….after all, is there anyone among us who would endeavor to limit our tax liabilities…even if it meant ‘inadvertently overlooking’ certain obscure payments. At what point do we acknowledge that none of us are perfect…and if we are waiting for the perfect mom or dad or teacher, or priest or politician or entrepreneur….we will be long dead and buried before they ever come along? Most of us hope that God will ‘forgive’ our failings and wrong-doings, we acknowledge our capability to sin (as well as our acting on this capability) every Mass. The more thorny issue is whether we are able to forgive each other….or ourselves. While we might recognize that a person has gained forgiveness from God for offenses committed…many of us hold on to perceived grievances for inordinate amounts of time. Gosh, some people can clearly speak about the exact moment and place when someone did something to us, it’s as if they are reading a script…and with each telling, the passion is renewed as if the event had just happened! So much for letting time heal old wounds. While those who enjoy wallowing in past grievances may derive a maudlin pleasure from it…the sad reality is that the inability to let go and move forward is a ‘paralysis of spirit’ which prevents the afflicted from fully living their life. Forgiveness is not really about the person who has rendered offense…it is about the person OFFENDED choosing to MOVE ON….to ‘Pick up our mats’ and live our lives. Some people derive a perverse pleasure in watching the perceived missteps of others…perhaps as a way of avoiding looking at their own. Missteps happen, sin happens, offenses are given, we hurt each other, we hurt ourselves….this is reality. Whether we choose to stay rooted in the hurt and failure is our choice, God gives us both the opportunity to say ‘I am sorry’…and to move on with our lives. Are we willing to do the same for ourselves and for others as well? As a final question, what do we gain by refusing to forgive? How are our lives improved or enriched by holding on to the hurts or offenses done against us? Why would we want to stay paralyzed by refusing to forgive ourselves for past mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this final weekend of Ordinary Time with our Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community. On Wednesday we are ushered into the season of Lent…and that is of course followed by Easter…which means we will not see the green of Ordinary Time again until June! Consider yourself invited to our Ash Wednesday Services, which begin at 4:00 a.m. It takes very little time to swing by and receive an ashen cross on your forehead…such a small and simple sign of being Roman Catholic in our discipleship of Jesus Christ…..the Bulletin has more information. This weekend is our Mardi-Gras Food Fair…lots of delicious tastes and treats…the profits benefit both the individual ministries as well as our Building Fund (50/50)…so eat away…and perhaps take some home for dinner tonight as well. Please take a Bulletin with you for information on Lenten events coming up in the weeks ahead….and remember, even with ashes on your forehead, you are loved. FKB
